SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warned Friday in Puerto Rico that the U.S. territory needs more energy generation as it struggles to recover from a recent massive power outage.
It was Granholm’s last official visit to the island, as many worry about the resources and funding that Puerto Rico’s crumbling power grid could receive under newly elected President Donald Trump, who chose a fossil fuels executive as his energy secretary.
Granholm noted that Puerto Rico has hit 232 power outages since Hurricane Fiona devastated the island in September 2022 due to insufficient generation.
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She said only about half of installed generation capacity is online, while the U.S. Department of Energy has invested millions of dollars in solar projects across the island, generating more than 1,200 megawatts of new renewable capacity.
While Granholm was considered an ally by former Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi, the island’s newly sworn-in Governor Jenniffer González snubbed the federal energy secretary and was not present at Friday’s news conference.
On Wednesday, González, who supports Trump, said Granholm would visit Puerto Rico “for her photo tour, so we ask her, in black and white, that in addition to her photo tour, she also tackles the core issues. I’m not going to fall for the photo game.”
González also appointed a so-called energy czar to review the contracts of two private energy companies that oversee energy generation, transmission and distribution on the island. She criticized the US government, saying it has not yet allocated $18 billion for the island’s energy supply. grid.
“The Department of Energy has no control over the funds associated with the electric grid. That is FEMA’s prerogative,” Granholm said at a news conference Friday when asked about González’s comments.
Granholm noted that $6 billion in federal funds has been obligated to help rebuild the power grid after Hurricane Maria leveled it in September 2017 when it hit the island as a powerful Category 4 storm. She added that FEMA has approved 200 of more than 440 projects submitted to the agency to repair and strengthen the power grid. Of the approved projects, 125 are under construction.
But despite ongoing work to stabilize and strengthen the electricity grid, outages remain constant.
On December 31, a nearly island-wide power outage hit the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people as it prepared for New Year’s Eve. More than 1,200 customers were without power on Friday, partly due to improvements to the system.
Javier Rúa Jovet, director of public policy for Puerto Rico’s Solar and Energy Storage Association, said in a telephone interview that the U.S. Department of Energy under Granholm has been an ally of renewable energy.
But he worries about the future of the electric grid under the Trump administration.
“Solar energy needs an electrical grid that is in good condition,” he said. “Puerto Rico’s grid reconstruction is basically based entirely on the flow of FEMA dollars. … If there is not real investment in it, it is in danger, especially if there is a new administration federally that will look for money everywhere to finance tax cuts for the rich.”
In November, Trump chose campaign donor and fossil fuels executive Chris Wright as energy secretary. The nomination comes as Puerto Rico struggles to reduce its dependence on petroleum and embrace renewable energy on an island ravaged by hurricanes and tropical storms almost annually.
Power plants that rely on fossil fuels provide 93% of Puerto Rico’s energy. Another 23% is powered by natural gas, 8% by coal and only 6% by renewable energy sources.
A 2019 public policy law calls for Puerto Rico to meet 40% of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2025, 60% by 2040 and 100% by 2050.
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