On Monday, U.S. Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm announced a $453.3 million commitment to finance rooftop solar panels and battery systems for Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities.

As Puerto Rico moves toward its stated goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, there are still gigantic leaps that need to be taken if it plans to reach that target date, though it is becoming increasingly unlikely that such monumental steps will be taken.

A U.S. government study has determined that with little room on the island for large-scale solar farms or wind generators, Puerto Rico should aim to reach its clean-energy goals by installing solar panels on all suitable rooftops, along with airports, brownfields, and industrial areas.

The oversight agency ruled for consumers, ordering the Texas corporation that it establish a protocol to disclose complete information about its services.

Equipment provided by Sunnova, with 62% of the residential renewable energy market in Puerto Rico, stopped generating power, while Casa Pueblo organization was one of the few that succeeded.

Los equipos de la empresa Sunnova, que acapara el 62% del mercado renovable residencial, dejaron de generar luz, mientras la organización Casa Pueblo fue de las pocas que demostró con éxito cómo adaptarse a los efectos del calentamiento global.

On Wednesday hundreds of people in Puerto Rico including religious leaders, economists, teachers and retirees protested a proposed increase to already high electric bills that a growing number of people in the U.S. territory are struggling to pay.

With rising temperatures and the increasing threat of tropical storms due to climate change menacing Puerto Rico, many fear the islands’ access to electrical power will only worsen under privatization.

It is time for the oversight board and the governor to give up the fantasy that the debt can be paid without harming Puerto Rico’s economy, pensioners, and electrical system recovery. Overly optimistic assumptions contributed to PREPA’s bankruptcy. More of the same will not solve its problems.

On Wednesday Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced that Genera PR will officially take over the remains of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and finish privatizing electrical generation on the archipelago.

Despite ample federal funding, less than one percent of the federal money slated for the island’s public water utility corporation since 2018 has been set aside to buy generators for water pumps. Local officials instead have been forced to rely on a patchwork supply of emergency units.

Almost $9 billion in bad debt and a half-century of high electricity prices hang in the balance in Puerto Rico.

On Tuesday, Sunrun, the largest rooftop solar installer in the U.S., announced a deal with Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority to launch the island’s first “virtual” power plant to help reduce power bills and offer a backup energy source.

Puerto Ricans are pushing for sustained interconnectivity between stakeholders doing the rebuilding in the islands and the diaspora and its allies advocating for long-term investment from the mainland — and these coordination efforts are largely driven by women’s networks.

On the island of Puerto Rico, there are more than 40,000 people using electrical devices that extend their lives, and during emergencies they are more vulnerable.

In the five years since Hurricane María tore through their country, the people of Puerto Rico have made efforts to rebuild in hopes that they would be ready for the next disaster. Hurricane Fiona, a Category 1 storm that swept through the island on Sunday, has shattered such hopes.

After seven consecutive increases, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau has announced the first reduction in the price of electricity since 2021. The decrease went into effect on Monday, August 1.

Since the implementation of Act 22 approved in 2012 in Puerto Rico, which attracts foreign investors with tax incentives, access to affordable housing for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault has been a growing challenge.

As they say, “denial is not a river in Egypt.” Someone needs to share this with Puerto Rico House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernández of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD, in Spanish). After 400,000 of the main island’s residents lost electrical power on April 6, Hernández said that the Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority (PREPA) should […]

More than a million customers in Puerto Rico remained without electricity on Thursday after a fire at a main power plant caused the biggest blackout so far this year across the U.S. territory, forcing it to cancel classes and shutter government offices.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities said Friday they are investigating what sparked a fire at a key substation that plunged 900,000 customers into darkness across Puerto Rico, with tens of thousands still without power.