Puerto Rico’s grid is largely repaired but nowhere near stable or resilient enough to withstand another hurricane, according to a top official in Puerto Rico’s Popular Democratic Party.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) announced that the utility’s last customer received full power Tuesday. Generators hooked up to micro-grids are powering at least several communities across the island while the power grid continues to be repaired.
Se completan los trabajos de energización del último cliente; residencia de Charlie, Jazmín e hijos en el Bo Real Anón, Sector Raíces, Ponce; gracias #TeamAEE CC6 pic.twitter.com/gC01EcggPS
— AEE (@AEEONLINE) August 14, 2018
I just spoke with the director of generation for @AEEONLINE Daniel Hernandez. Residents in Vieques & Culebra are both getting power from the @AEEONLINE micro grids which are both connected to generators (some of which are owned by PREPA, others by FEMA)
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 14, 2018
Not all parts of Puerto Rico are receiving power, however. (RELATED: At Least 1,500 Puerto Ricans Have Died Because Of 2017’s Hurricanes, Official Says)
“For sure, not all the people have power back,” Popular Democratic Party President Héctor Ferrer told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an email. “There are pockets in different parts of the island that have not yet been restored, but I can’t tell you in numbers.”
Ferrer is leading Puerto Rico’s minority party and challenging Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló for the head of the island’s government.
“[The grid] won’t last another hurricane,” Ferrer told TheDCNF. “It is not a new grid, it was repaired.”
Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, communications and power grid were reduced to shambles when Hurricane Maria struck the island on Sept. 20, 2017. Federal emergency officials and the island’s government have been working for 11 months to restore power to the island and move thousands of refugees into shelters.
The government of Puerto Rico did not respond to a request for comment.
PREPA could not be reached for comment.
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