Resilience in the eye of the storm: how Puerto Rico can build a stronger, more sustainable energy future
By EDF Blogs
By Agustín Carbó and Amalia Saladrigas
En español
The Atlantic hurricane season is under way and scientists predict it will be one of the strongest in recent memory, as climate change makes more frequent and severe storms the new normal. For communities across Puerto Rico, already battered by an array of crises, the need to plot a more resilient future is urgent.
Energy is a critical lifeline for Puerto Ricans, and residents’ health and well-being depend on a stable and reliable source of power. Previous disasters, from hurricanes to earthquakes, have shown how unreliable and fragile the current centralized energy system is.
Now, the archipelago has an opportunity to reimagine its electric infrastructure in a way that puts communities first with more sustainable and resilient solutions.
Hurricane season compounds risks, highlights need for solutions
Amid an ongoing fiscal crisis and struggling economy, the public health response to COVID-19 has stretched local resources available for hurricane preparedness. Providing communal storm shelter during a pandemic also raises serious public health concerns, and many residents lack adequate housing to begin with.
Resilience in the eye of the storm: how Puerto Rico can build a stronger, more sustainable energy future Click To Tweet
Nearly three years after Hurricane Maria, roughly 3,000 families still have blue tarps as roofs and a series of earthquakes in January left many in the southwest region of the island living in unstable or unreliable structures. These disasters also underscore how fragile and vulnerable the electric grid remains, largely due to its centralized design and chronic lack of upkeep over the years.
In 2017, Maria decimated the grid and left most of Puerto Rico’s residents in a months-long blackout. Efforts to rebuild and modernize have lagged, and this year’s earthquakes severely damaged one of the island’s main power plants and plunged much of the island into darkness — highlighting the risks of a system that generates most of its power in a few locations.
A decentralized approach is critical for limiting the extent of potential damage in the future and accelerating communities’ ability to withstand and bounce back from disaster.
Opportunities to drive resilience and sustainability
The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau is in the process of reviewing the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s Integrated Resource Plan, a 20-year road map for providing electricity to customers throughout the island. PREPA’s filed IRP did not go far enough to decentralize generation and maintained an over-reliance on fossil fuels. This would only perpetuate current problems, such as poor air quality and high costs, and do little to empower communities to play a greater role in their energy future.
Puerto Ricans already pay a premium for power...
