Puerto Rico suffered an island-wide power outage early morning on New Year's Eve, plunging millions of people into darkness as officials continue to grapple with a faulty power grid. As of yesterday afternoon, less than 5% of customers remained without power.
The US territory has suffered from frequent power outages over the past eight years. In 2016, a fire significantly damaged one of Puerto Rico's largest power plants, while one year later, Hurricane Maria devastated the island's already aging power infrastructure. The total damage from Maria was estimated at $90B, and blackouts persisted into mid-2018—ultimately becoming the second-worst blackout on record.
The somewhat unique relationship between Puerto Rico and the US—residents are US citizens but lack meaningful political representation—has left the island at a disadvantage, making it difficult to receive federal funds to repair infrastructure. Estimates to modernize the power grid have been in the range of $20B.
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