By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration said on Wednesday it will redirect $365 million in funding for Puerto Rico’s power grid that had been awarded during the previous administration to support rooftop solar power and battery storage.
Puerto Rico has long dealt with widespread power outages due to the U.S. territory’s crumbling infrastructure, the 2017 bankruptcy of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and a string of devastating hurricanes. It experienced an island-wide blackout a month ago, followed by an outage that hit 134,000 customers.
The Department of Energy said the funding will be redirected to “expand access to reliable power for millions of people rather than thousands and generate a higher return on investment for taxpayers while advancing grid resiliency for Puerto Rico.”
The department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment about where the funding would go instead of solar.
But last week Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order that directs Puerto Rico’s state-owned utility to plug chronic electricity shortfalls on the island with electricity from oil-burning power plants, which emit pollution including greenhouse gases.
The funding for solar power was awarded in late 2024, for projects that had been slated to begin construction in 2026.
The DOE said the redirected funding will support practical fixes and emergency activities that offer a faster, more effective solution to the current crisis, benefiting critical facilities like hospitals and community centers.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Jasper Ward; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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