XPost: soc.culture.puerto-rico, alt.global-warming, sac.politics   
   XPost: soc.retirement   
   From: dharris@splcenter.org   
      
   "Democrat"   
      
   About a third of Puerto Rico's residents — over 900,000 — are   
   still living without electricity five months after Hurricane   
   Maria battered the island on Sept. 20th of last year.   
      
   As power restoration efforts continue against all odds, it's   
   still hard for officials to say when the power will be fully   
   restored — the question on everyone's mind.   
      
   “I would hesitate to give you a date,” said Lt. Col. John   
   Cunningham of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the deputy   
   commander for the Task Force Power Restoration on the island.   
   “We would like to go faster, but right now we’re going as fast   
   as we can.”   
      
   “The largest challenge has been logistics: getting the materials   
   we need,” Cunningham told NBC News. “Because it is a tropical   
   island, they need specific conductors and materials that can   
   resist the tropical weather and there’s a limited number of   
   suppliers available to purchase specific materials for the   
   island.”   
      
   After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, getting access to those   
   materials is even harder.   
      
   About 1,200 temporary generators and seven microgrids are   
   powering key areas near important buildings such as schools and   
   hospitals. In addition, teams from utility companies from the   
   mainland U.S. have made their way to Puerto Rico to support   
   personnel sent to the island to help restore power.   
      
   After Hurricane Maria left the entire island without power, the   
   Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, needed at least   
   about 53,000 poles, a little over 17 million conductors and   
   184,750 insulators.   
      
   So far, 5,072 transformers have arrived in Puerto Rico in   
   addition to about 31,500 poles and about 2,613 miles of   
   conductor cables already on the island, PREPA said in a   
   statement.   
      
   In the next two weeks, Puerto Rico should receive 80 containers   
   with additional equipment.   
      
   RESTORING POWER AMID FUNDING WOES   
   One of the reasons for a lack of inventory in the first place is   
   PREPA's financial woes. While a Category 5 hurricane like Maria   
   was expected to cause massive damage, Puerto Rico's bankrupt and   
   greatly indebted public utility had not kept up with upgrading   
   and modernizing its four-decade-old power plants, which mostly   
   produce energy from burning imported oil.   
      
   Puerto Rican government leaders went to federal court in New   
   York on Thursday to request a $1 billion emergency loan to   
   finance operational costs and avoid running out of cash. Though   
   the request was not approved, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor   
   Swain gave Puerto Rico’s lawyers the chance to submit another   
   motion for a $300 million emergency loan, understanding that   
   “the lights cannot go off in Puerto Rico.” The motion was filed   
   early Friday and Judge Swain approved it on Monday.   
      
   To reduce costs and avoid a shutdown, Puerto Rico has activated   
   a contingency plan that consists of reducing power to energy   
   reserves that handle generation failures like the one that took   
   place on Feb. 12 in northern Puerto Rico. Government officials   
   said Sunday it should not affect customers.   
      
   PREPA is currently the government agency with the biggest share   
   of Puerto Rico’s $72 billion public debt. In part, PREPA’s $9   
   billion debt is due to unpaid electricity bills from public   
   entities in Puerto Rico.   
      
   Liquidity issues around Puerto Rico's power company go back   
   decades. Through Puerto Rico's fiscal agency AAFAF, most PREPA   
   projects get funded through the issuance of bonds.   
      
   Critics say past projects illustrate a history of costly   
   mistakes.   
      
   Francisco Lopez, an engineer and PREPA employee for 36 years and   
   now an independent energy consultant, had pitched a project in   
   2010 called Via Verde that consisted of a natural gas pipeline   
   across the island.   
      
   Because the governor at the time, Luis Fortuño, had signed an   
   executive order declaring a “state of emergency" around electric   
   power generation, the project was approved and bonds were issued   
   before any public hearings.   
      
   Photos: 100 days in the dark leave Puerto Ricans with glimmer of   
   hope   
      
   PREPA had done a study that showed that revenues from Via Verde   
   would be enough to pay back bondholders. “It would have taken,   
   like, five years," said Lopez.   
      
   But the $350 million Via Verde project never came to life after   
   strong opposition from community members and environmentalists.   
   With no project, there was no revenue, but PREPA still had to   
   pay bondholders back as well as the already-hired contractors.   
   Lopez said situations like this have contributed to the   
   utility's debt.   
      
   AMID CRITICISM, A PROMISE TO RESTORE POWER   
   As PREPA grapples with financial issues, it has also faced   
   strong questions about its actions following the hurricane.   
      
   A former supervisor and chemist at PREPA, Carlos Velez, was   
   critical of the government's initial handling of its equipment   
   and restoration needs.   
      
   Related: FEMA under scrutiny over botched contract to provide   
   meals for Puerto Rico   
      
   “In a situation where PREPA lacks inventory, the usual procedure   
   is to ask the American Public Power Association (APPA) for   
   what’s needed,” said Velez. APPA is a not-for-profit   
   organization that serves U.S. public utilities; it has worked   
   with PREPA on previous post-hurricane efforts.   
      
   Instead, PREPA came under fire after signing a $300 million   
   contract with Whitefish, a small Montana-based firm. The   
   contract was eventually terminated after questions emerged   
   following a Washington Post report about the company and the   
   contract.   
      
   It wasn’t until the end of October, more than a month after the   
   hurricane, that APPA received Puerto Rico’s petition asking for   
   help. It still remains unclear why APPA’s help was requested so   
   late.   
      
   FEMA deputy administrator Ahsha Tribble, who has been working on   
   the island for months, said in an Oversight Board hearing that   
   PREPA's bureaucracy has slowed down restoration efforts. “When   
   you have eight layers of approval to get something done, it’s   
   not working for us,” said Tribble.   
      
   PREPA has also been dealing with changing leadership. In   
   November, its executive director Ricardo Ramos stepped down and   
   Gov. Ricardo Rosselló called for Justo Gonzalez’s appointment as   
   interim director.   
      
   “When you put an interim director in the middle of a disaster,   
   it’s hard. It’s very difficult to begin to make decisions,” said   
   Tribble.   
      
   The spotlight on PREPA after the devastating storm and the   
   financial crisis may result in significant changes. Gov.   
   Rosselló announced a plan last month to move toward privatizing   
   the utility, pledging a more "financially viable," consumer-   
   centered model.   
      
   While there is debate over the plan, consumer watchdogs and   
   analysts have long called for changes to PREPA. In addition, the   
   utility's finances and debt are now being scrutinized by a   
   financial oversight board started under President Barack Obama   
   as well as Judge Swain.   
      
   In the meantime, the start of the next hurricane season is just   
   four months away.   
      
      
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