#AND THEN THERE WAS LIGHT IN PUERTO RICO GENERATOR#

mainland, analysts said, and the utility had trouble hiring experienced employees to replace them.

Up to 30% of the utility’s employees retired or migrated to the U.S. Inspections, maintenance and repairs were scaled back. Cutbacks in tree pruning left the 16,000 miles of primary power lines spread across the island vulnerable. While natural disasters have underscored the problems of the island’s electrical system, over the past few years the island’s and the power company’s money problems made the power grid particularly susceptible to crippling damage by storms.Īs of 2014 the government-owned company was $9 billion in debt, and in July, it filed for bankruptcy under the provisions set by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, a law signed by President Obama in 2016. PREPA at the time said two transmission lines had failed. Last year, the island suffered a massive blackout after a fire broke out at one of the island’s main electricity plants, leaving half of the territory’s residents in the dark. The tropical storm destroyed 30,000 houses and damaged at least another 60,000. Hurricane Georges in 1998 left the island without power for three weeks. The warnings about impending electricity problems that were issued even before Hurricane Maria hit stemmed from the island’s long history of power outages and the lack of substantial refurbishing and maintenance. Fuel was delivered to at least 200 of those stations on Wednesday, they said. military officials, part of a contingent of thousands of extra troops being brought in to help with recovery, are helping expedite fuel deliveries to hospitals.īy midweek, 689 of the 1,000 gas stations on the island were operating, Puerto Rico officials said. The lack of power has brought some water pumps to a standstill, and a growing number of homes are running out of clean water.

#AND THEN THERE WAS LIGHT IN PUERTO RICO GENERATOR#

The island has been relying on generators large and small, but fuel shortages have limited their capacity.Īt least two people died this week in the city of San Juan after the generator producing electricity that powered life support systems ran out of fuel, city officials said. The entire system of generation, transmission and distribution must be rebuilt, including replacement of high-voltage transmission lines Hyland said. Restoring Puerto Rico’s power will involve much more than replacing downed poles and cables. “It is going to be a long and arduous process and patience is the key word,” Hyland said. Mike Hyland, senior vice president of engineering for the American Public Power Assn., a nonprofit organization that sent equipment and utility experts to help with recovery, said officials are conducting a comprehensive assessment of damage to the electrical system, relying in part on drones sent by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “Our infrastructure and energy distribution systems suffered great damages,” Puerto Rico Gov. Government officials and emergency responders said the island’s power grid was effectively destroyed. In relatively short order, the government-owned PREPA was able to restore electricity to 96% of its 1.5 million customers.īut the ferocious winds of Hurricane Maria a week later took out 55% of the island’s transmission towers. Puerto Rico largely survived Hurricane Irma, which killed three people and led to widespread power outages when it sideswiped the island two weeks ago. More /yUDLk8V0Jf- NOAA Satellites September 25, 2017 #HurricaneMaria knocked out power grid, millions without electricity.

And then there was light in puerto rico