An ai-generated illustration depicts residents facing barriers of red tape around solar projects and piles of money, symbolizing more than $10 billion in federal funding meant to rebuild and harden Puerto Rico’s electric grid that remains unspent.
Art Direction by Jillian Melero for Connect Puerto Rico. Art generated by Dall•E3. (July 21, 2026)
Almost nine years ago, Hurricane Maria caused an estimated 2,975 deaths and an islands-wide blackout that took 11 months to fully restore.
Now, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit reports that three-quarters of the billions in federal money committed to rebuilding and modernizing Puerto Rico’s electric grid remains undisbursed, as The AP’s Dánica Coto reports.
El Nuevo Día reports on three related stories plaguing Puerto Rico’s grid system:
• At Costa Sur, failures involving two generating units triggered separate rounds of rolling outages. One unit could remain offline for two weeks.
• Customers will pay more for electricity through September.
• And PREPA’s nearly decade-long bankruptcy remains unresolved after bondholders rejected a settlement offer.
Our Energy Workforce Watch tracks continued transmission and substation hiring at Sargent & Lundy, field roles connected to Ceres Caribe’s $172 million LUMA vegetation-clearing contract, and more selective hiring tied to solar and industrial-energy projects.
Coming up July 30, I’ll join the Listening Post Collective, Tiny News Collective and five other community news founders to discuss what listening revealed across our communities and how it is shaping our work. Registration details are in the issue.
Federal audit finds most of Puerto Rico’s grid-recovery funding remains unspent
Nearly nine years after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid, billions of dollars promised for its recovery have yet to translate into completed projects. (AP)
What Happened
Federal agencies have obligated roughly $14 billion for grid recovery and modernization — meaning the money has been formally committed. Only about 25% has been disbursed, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit.
By the end of 2025, just nine of 258 large FEMA-funded projects were complete. The audit also found that the Department of Energy redirected or canceled roughly $715 million originally intended for solar projects serving communities and low-income households.
Why it Matters
Federal and Puerto Rico officials disagree over where ultimate responsibility for the delays lies. The audit points to cumbersome project reviews, staff turnover, funding complications and poor coordination across agencies and contractors. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said Puerto Rico’s government is ultimately responsible for rebuilding the grid.
Meanwhile, residents continue paying for an unreliable system while most of the available federal money remains unused.
What to Watch
FEMA guidance: The GAO recommended that FEMA update its guidance to reflect available flexibilities for grid-recovery projects.
Federal coordination: The GAO recommended that the Energy Department clarify the roles of participating entities and develop a plan for coordinating their work.
Project execution: Future funding reports will show whether disbursements increase and more projects move into construction and completion. Both departments agreed with the GAO’s recommendations.
🗺️Track grid projects
Use COR3’s recovery-project map to review energy projects that have entered execution. The map provides project locations, funding information and reported progress.
COR3 is Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency, the government office that coordinates federally funded disaster-recovery work.
📅Coming up: What community listening reveals
Coming up Thursday, July 30, I’ll join founders from five other community news outlets for a conversation about what happens when newsrooms begin by listening.
I’ll share some of what CPR learned by asking how people find, understand and use information about Puerto Rico’s energy challenges.
The discussion will compare what listening revealed across six very different community newsrooms and how those findings are shaping each outlet’s work.
Join us for the 90-minute conversation at 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET.
This webinar is hosted by the Listening Post Collective and Tiny News Collective.
