For millions of Puerto Ricans, power outages are more than an inconvenience. Families must plan meals knowing food may spoil. Small businesses keep generators on standby. Hospitals brace for outages that put lives at risk. Despite years of promises, the situation keeps getting worse.
This isn’t just a Puerto Rico problem. Puerto Rico’s power crisis is inseparable from the failures of the island’s Financial Oversight and Management Board. Created by Congress in 2016 to restore stability, the board has instead presided over nearly a decade of dysfunction, while charging Puerto Rico handsomely for the privilege.
The island is a U.S. territory governed, in key ways, by federal authority. When Washington creates an oversight board, controls the purse strings and appoints leadership, it owns the outcome. Every prolonged blackout, every stalled reconstruction project, and every added layer of bureaucracy costs U.S. taxpayers money. Congress has already appropriated tens of billions in disaster and recovery funds for Puerto Rico, yet much of it remains tied up while consultants rack up fees and the grid remains fragile.
Last summer, President Trump took a first step by dismissing five of the board’s seven members. It was an overdue acknowledgment that the status quo wasn’t working. .
Power outages on the island are 7.8 times more frequent and last more than 13 times longer than on the mainland. On New Year’s Eve 2024, nearly 90% of Puerto Rico lost electricity. Families across San Juan relied on phone flashlights to keep children safe. Months later, another outage knocked out power for 1.4 million customers, forcing hospitals onto backup generators and shuttering countless small businesses. Even in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, power went out again across parts of San Juan. Economists estimate that each island-wide blackout costs Puerto Rico between $70 million and $150 million.
Now, insult is being added to injury. Public hearings have just begun on a proposal by LUMA Energy to dramatically raise the fixed monthly charge on electricity bills from $4 today to $15, with some scenarios pushing combined fixed charges above $40 a month. This is in a place where electricity already costs far more than the U.S. average.
Meanwhile, what has the Oversight Board been doing? Burning through more than $2 billion on consultants, lawyers and advisers. Many charge $1,000 an hour, roughly what the average Puerto Rican worker earns in a full week.
Voters see it, and they’re angry. A recent poll of Puerto Ricans living in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania found that 95% rate the island’s electrical system as “poor.” Nearly everyone — 93% — believes the board’s leadership should be replaced. An overwhelming 83% say Trump should make fixing the grid a priority.
These voters aren’t asking for miracles. They’re asking for competence, accountability and urgency. Trump needs to appoint new board members committed to transparency, fiscal responsibility and rebuilding a power system that works.
Julio Fuentes is chairman of the National Hispanic Energy Council and president and CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce/InsideSources
