Puerto Rico Power Outage: Causes & Solutions
- In 2016, facing an insurmountable debt crisis, Puerto Rico's financial fate landed in the hands of the U.S.
- Torruella criticized PROMESA as a "colonial experiment." In a 2018 Harvard Law Review paper, Torruella argued the U.S.
- The situation worsened after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017.
Uncover the complex factors behind Puerto Rico’s power struggles and the ongoing impact of PROMESA, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. This legislation, enacted in 2016, placed the island’s financial well-being under the control of a fiscal control board, sparking fierce debate over autonomy. We dissect the essential role of outside entities during fiscal control,including the controversial privatization of the power grid and the subsequent involvement of Luma Energy. Understand the challenges stemming from the hurricane and the long-term ramifications tied to PROMESA. News Directory 3 provides up-to-date insights on the evolving situation. Explore how both the power grid’s privatization and the PROMESA era have combined to affect the lives of everyday Puerto Rican citizens. Discover what’s next …
Puerto Rico’s PROMESA: Fiscal Control and Island Autonomy
Updated June 18, 2025
In 2016, facing an insurmountable debt crisis, Puerto Rico’s financial fate landed in the hands of the U.S. Congress. the result was PROMESA, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and economic Stability Act. This law created a White House-appointed fiscal control board with broad authority over the island’s budget, effectively limiting the autonomy of Puerto Rico’s elected government.
The late federal appeals court judge Juan R. Torruella criticized PROMESA as a “colonial experiment.” In a 2018 Harvard Law Review paper, Torruella argued the U.S. relationship with Puerto Rico violated the island’s civil rights.
The situation worsened after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017. Initial reports cited dozens of deaths, but the true toll climbed into the thousands as residents struggled without power, medicine, and clean water. The power grid wasn’t fully restored for 11 months, and even then, outages remained frequent.
The fiscal control board, derisively called “la junta” by critics, championed privatization as the solution for the struggling Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA).
In 2020,the board approved a contract for luma Energy,a joint venture of Quanta Services and ATCO,to manage Puerto Rico’s power distribution and sales. Critics alleged the contract process lacked transparency and accountability, leading to immediate controversy over the island’s energy future and the
before these events, life seemed promising for Suárez Vázquez. Her family survived Hurricane Maria, and in 2019, her son Edgardo was thriving at an aviation school in Ceiba.Airlines were actively recruiting him.
Suárez Vázquez said, “They were courting him. He was going to graduate with a great job.”
However, in the summer of 2019, Edgardo began experiencing abdominal pain. He initially dismissed it,but later sought medical attention. On Sept. 23, a radiologist, who was also her godson, informed Suárez Vázquez that Edgardo had three tumors in his intestines. The
What’s next
The long-term effects of PROMESA and the privatization of Puerto Rico’s power grid remain to be seen. The island continues to grapple with economic recovery and infrastructure challenges.