Welcome to the February issue of Connect Puerto Rico.

For millions of viewers, the Super Bowl halftime show was spectacle.

For Puerto Ricans, the image of a sparking utility pole was familiar.

Bad Bunny’s performance brought Puerto Rico’s electric grid to one of the largest stages in the world. It arrived during a period of significant policy movement. Federal rooftop solar and battery programs serving low-income households have been canceled. Funding is being redirected toward centralized power generation. At the same time, new battery performance data shows distributed systems contributing measurable support during peak demand.

These developments point to larger questions about direction. What kind of energy system Puerto Rico is building. Which projects receive public investment. How federal dollars shape market incentives. And who stands to benefit as billions of dollars move through the sector.

Those decisions are unfolding now.

That’s why Connect Puerto Rico is launching its energy listening project — a series of small, off-the-record conversations focused on how information about Puerto Rico’s energy development moves, and where it breaks down.

Because infrastructure debates are also information debates. And clarity matters.

The Trump administration has canceled several federally funded solar and battery storage programs in Puerto Rico worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

One of the canceled initiatives — valued at roughly $400 million — would have installed rooftop solar and batteries in low-income homes, including households with medical needs. (The Associated Press)

Another program would have financed systems for 150 households in Culebra.

In an internal email obtained by the AP, the U.S. Department of Energy said Puerto Rico’s grid “cannot afford to run on more distributed solar power,” arguing that rapid rooftop growth has caused “instability and fragility.”

The department said it plans to redirect up to $350 million toward improving power generation instead. It’s not yet clear how that money will be used.

Puerto Rico’s grid remains fragile nearly nine years after Hurricane Maria. Major blackouts hit on New Year’s Eve 2024 and again during Holy Week last year. The canceled programs were part of a $1 billion resilience fund approved by Congress in 2022. Despite a legal mandate to reach 100% renewable energy by 2050, fossil fuels still dominate:

More than 40% of residents live below the poverty line, and many cannot afford private solar installations.

The dispute

Javier Rúa Jovet of Puerto Rico’s Solar and Energy Storage Association told the AP that roughly 200,000 households rely on rooftop systems generating about 1.4 gigawatts daily. He said battery-backed systems and smart inverters help regulate voltage and prevent blackouts.

Dan Whittle of the Environmental Defense Fund told the AP residents are “really upset and angry,” noting that privately funded systems often keep power during outages. He rejected the claim that solar is the source of instability.

Zoom out

Puerto Rico’s post-Maria rebuild has prioritized rooftop solar and batteries as resilience tools, reflecting a broader debate over whether the archipelago’s future grid should be centralized or distributed. Federal officials argue that rapid distributed expansion can complicate grid planning and reliability, while energy analysts and clean energy advocates point to post-storm performance and household-level resilience as evidence that localized systems strengthen the grid (Canary Media, Nov. 2025).

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