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Rep. Ritchie Torres Leads Effort to Call to Expedite the Rebuilding of Puerto Rico’s Electric Grid

Sep 20, 2022
Press
Rebuilding the Economy

Five Years Following Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is again ravaged by Hurricane Fiona 

Washington, DC– Today, Rep. Ritchie Torres is leading the effort for federal agencies to immediately coordinate to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid. In a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A), Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.), and the Department of Energy (D.O.E.), Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Rep. John B. Larson (CT-1), Rep. Darren Soto (FL-9), and Rep. Jennifer González-Colón (PR) called for the three agencies to make every conceivable effort to expedite the rebuilding of the electric grid in Puerto Rico.

In the letter Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) states, “Those living on the island cannot afford any red tape in the rebuilding of the electric grid. The people of Puerto Rico—who have been suffering too much for too long—have no electricity, despite paying the highest electricity bills in the United States.”

As of now, over 80 percent homes and businesses in Puerto Rico still lack power as a result of the devastation Hurricane Fiona caused. LUMA Energy, which is the power provider for Puerto Rico, has restored power to more than 100,000 customers. In a statement, LUMA said its crews are still working to bring back power for others. However, the company said, “full restoration could take several days.”

Rep. Torres has long been committed to rebuilding the electrical grid in Puerto Rico to modern standards that would be able to withstand severe storms that often plague the island. The people of Puerto Rico have not had stable electricity in years, and the Island is still recovering from Hurricane Maria five years ago. Puerto Rico has been neglected for too long, and every effort must be taken to restore basic necessities to the residents of Puerto Rico. 

See letter text here

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