Electric Reliability and Resiliency in Puerto Rico

Updated May 30, 2025

Electric Reliability and Resiliency in Puerto Rico

Power outages have heightened congressional interest in

Puerto Rico’s electric power infrastructure, which was

damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017,

earthquakes in 2020, and hurricane Fiona in 2022. Power

outages continue to occur frequently, with multiple partial

and island-wide blackouts in 2025. In response to reliability

and resiliency concerns, the Secretary of Energy issued two

emergency orders on May 16, 2025, pursuant to Section

202(c) of the Federal Power Act. Subsequently, on May 21,

2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a

redirection of $365 million in funding that had been

awarded for distributed energy solar and battery energy

storage to be used “to support technologies that improve

system flexibility and response, power flow and control,

component strength, supply security, and safety.”

Issues of congressional interest may include oversight of

actions by DOE and other federal agencies, the status of

federal funding for energy projects and the performance of

the electric system, among other considerations.

Federal Funding for the Electric System

Congress has provided funding for Puerto Rico’s electric

power infrastructure through a variety of channels since the

2017 hurricanes, although comprehensive and authoritative

data on the status of awards is difficult to collect.

According to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority

(PREPA), as of June 2023, the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing

and Urban Development (HUD), and other agencies

“awarded over $15 billion of federal funding in total.”

Available data as of May 2025 reported by Puerto Rico’s

Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency

(COR3) indicates that federal funding since the 2017

hurricanes includes FEMA Public Assistance

(approximately $13.6 billion obligated, including

approximately $2.5 billion for emergency protective

measures), FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance

(approximately $1 billion authorized), HUD Community

Development Block Grant (CDBG)-Disaster Recovery

(DR): Electric Grid (approximately $1.9 billion), other

HUD CDBG-DR funds (approximately $0.4 billion), and

HUD CDBG-Mitigation funds (approximately $0.5 billion)

for the Community Energy and Water Resilience

Installations Program and other energy-related programs.

Other funding includes the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience

Fund ($1.0 billion) administered by the Department of

Energy (DOE). From 2023 to 2025, DOE issued a partial

loan guarantee to Sunnova Energy Corporation (reportedly

canceled in May 2025); a loan guarantee to Clean Flexible

Energy LLC, for Project Marahu; and a loan guarantee to

subsidiaries of Convergent Energy and Power Inc., for

projects that include renewable and battery storage

development in Puerto Rico. Other authorized federal

programs that could provide financial assistance for energy

projects in Puerto Rico include the Environmental

Protection Agency’s Solar for All program and several U.S.

Department of Agriculture Rural Development programs.

Some funding has been allocated to grantees, but the

majority of obligated funds remain undisbursed. For

example, of the more than $10 billion obligated by FEMA

for permanent work under Public Assistance, approximately

$2 billion has been disbursed as of May 2025. Of the $1.9

billion obligated by HUD’s CDBG-DR for the electric grid,

less than 1% had been disbursed as of July 2024.

Overview of Puerto Rico’s Electric

Power System

Puerto Rico’s electric power system is isolated from other

electric grids and is reliant on fossil fuel-fired power plants.

PREPA is a public utility owned by the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico and is the largest supplier of electricity in

Puerto Rico, with approximately 1.5 million customers.

PREPA’s generators have a combined installed capacity of

nearly 5 gigawatts (GW). Together with independent power

producers, Puerto Rico’s electric power system has a

generation capacity of approximately 6.3 GW; however, the

available capacity is often less than the installed capacity.

As of December 2024, distributed rooftop solar provides an

additional 1.0 GW, for a total system nameplate capacity of

7.3 GW. Puerto Rico’s total generation capacity, including

distributed sources, is provided by a mix of sources fueled

by petroleum (42%), natural gas (33%), coal (7%), and

renewables (19%) (rounded to the nearest percent).

Before the hurricanes in September 2017, annual electricity

generation totaled approximately 21 billion kilowatt-hours

(kWh) (see Figure 1). After a decrease in electricity

generation in 2017 as a result of long-term power outages

from damage caused by the hurricanes, annual electricity

generation increased from 17.5 billion kWh in 2018 to 19.9

billion kWh in 2023 (with a shift in generation source in

2020 due to earthquake damage). Over the same time

period, the amount and share of electricity generation from

utility-scale non-hydroelectric renewables also increased.

Privatization and Energy Diversification

Efforts

Since the 2017 hurricanes, the government of Puerto Rico

has embarked on initiatives to improve the reliability (the

ability of an energy facility or system to avoid power

disruptions) and resiliency (the ability of an energy facility

or system to recover quickly from damage) of the electric

power system and its governance. These initiatives include

taking steps toward privatizing aspects of the electric power

system and diversifying the energy sources used for Puerto

Rico’s electric power generation.

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Electric Reliability and Resiliency in Puerto Rico

Figure 1. Puerto Rico Electricity Generation, by Source

Figure is interactive in HTML report version.

Source: CRS, using data from U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics, generated January 21, 2025.

Notes: kWh = kilowatt-hours. Generation data consist of both utility and non-utility sources from electricity and combined heat and power

plants, reported as net generation. Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Non-hydroelectric renewables include solar, wind, and

landfill gas.

Since 2014, several Puerto Rico laws have focused on the

electric power sector. Act 57-2014 reformed PREPA’s

governance and oversight. Act 120-2018 aimed to end

PREPA’s monopoly over power generation, transmission,

and distribution, and it provided for unsold assets to be

operated by private companies. Act 258-2018 allowed for

the formation of electric and energy cooperatives. Act 172019 set renewable energy targets, including a goal of

100% of power from renewable sources by 2050 (with

interim goals for 2025 and 2040) and ending the use of coal

for power generation by 2028. The law also prioritized

enabling consumers to generate their own electricity and

send excess energy to other grid users (known as net

metering). Act 1-2025 removed interim goals for renewable

energy and extended the use of coal through 2032.

Other Considerations

Pursuant to these laws, PREPA entered into agreements

with private companies to manage some aspects of the

electric power system. LUMA began operating and

managing the transmission and distribution system on

June 1, 2021. On June 1, 2023, LUMA stated that service

interruption frequency had been reduced by approximately

35% and interruption duration by approximately 25% since

2021. Genera began operating and managing PREPA’s nonhydropower generation assets on July 1, 2023. PREPA

continues to operate its hydroelectric power plants.

Considerations may include how and at what rate federal

funding has been implemented in Puerto Rico—some

procedures rely on fixed-cost estimates, potentially limiting

the number or types of projects implemented, given recent

price inflation. Another consideration is whether actions by

the Trump Administration—such as declaring a national

energy emergency, implementing policies under Executive

Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” or

considering an application for a Presidential Permit for

transmission connection between Puerto Rico and the

Dominican Republic—may introduce changes or

flexibilities in approving and completing projects. In

addition to conducting oversight, Congress could consider

whether to alter permitting requirements or processes for

energy infrastructure projects—in Puerto Rico and

elsewhere. H.R. 2714 (119th Congress) would establish a

task force to identify solutions and coordinate with relevant

groups to address Puerto Rico’s electricity issues.

In 2024, Puerto Rico enacted legislation amending

electricity net metering program requirements and directed

the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) to begin a study to

evaluate the impact of net metering and energy distribution

no sooner than 2030. PREB is responsible for regulating,

monitoring, and enforcing Puerto Rico’s energy policy. Net

metering—widely viewed as a policy that favors smallscale solar projects—can be controversial because utilities

may shift the costs of grid services from program

participants to non-net metering customers in an effort to

recover costs associated with providing electricity.

In early 2024, DOE and others determined that Puerto Rico

could transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050, but the

rate at which energy projects in Puerto Rico can be

designed, constructed, and completed depends on a number

of factors. These include approvals from PREB and the

Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB),

which was established under the Puerto Rico Oversight,

Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA;

P.L. 114-187) to lead efforts to restructure Puerto Rico’s

public debts (including PREPA). FOMB has a

responsibility in certifying fiscal plans for PREPA, among

other activities. In 2024, FOMB filed a lawsuit challenging

the amended net metering law. Efforts to negotiate a deal to

address PREPA’s debt continue.

Corrie E. Clark, Specialist in Energy Policy

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IF12913

Electric Reliability and Resiliency in Puerto Rico

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