January 2025 has been a year already, with executive orders, actions, and appointments coming fast and furious. There’s a lot to keep up with, so let’s get to it.

🖊️ Trump’s Energy Orders – Shifts in U.S. energy policy from the new administration.

🔌 The NYE Blackout – Puerto Rico’s widespread New Year’s Eve power outage.

👩‍⚖️ González Sworn In – Gov. Jenniffer González Colón takes office after the blackout, promising immediate action on energy.

⚙️ Energy Czar Named – The governor appoints Josué Colón to oversee the island's power crisis management.

👋🏼Granholm’s Final Official Visit – Biden’s Energy Secretary bids farewell with a warning.

💸 $1.2 Billion for Renewables – The U.S. commits more funding for renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico.

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump issued several executive orders including many aimed at reshaping U.S. energy policy.

Axios: Trump signs slew of sweeping energy executive orders

Trump’s actions prioritize fossil fuels and roll back climate-focused initiatives — which does not bode well for a transition to renewable energy in the U.S. let alone Puerto Rico.

What Happened:

What this means for Puerto Rico:

Why it matters:
Puerto Rico’s energy security depends on modernizing its grid and investing in renewables to boost sustainability and resilience. These federal policy changes are likely to create obstacles and underscore the need for local solutions and investment to stay on course.

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Puerto Rico faced an island-wide power outage just hours before New Year’s Eve celebrations began. The blackout, which started at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2024, affected 90% of the island's 1.47 million electricity customers.

Associated Press: Nearly all of Puerto Rico is without power on New Year’s Eve

Luma Energy, responsible for electricity transmission and distribution, attributed the failure to an underground power line near the Costa Sur plant in Guayanilla. The outage triggered a cascade of power plant shutdowns, leaving most of the island in the dark.

Power was restored to nearly 98% of customers by late afternoon on Jan. 1, 2025, but the incident sparked swift responses:

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Jenniffer González Colón was sworn in as Puerto Rico's new governor Jan. 2, 2025, following the widespread blackout that disrupted New Year celebrations.

Associated Press: Puerto Rico’s new governor sworn in days after a major blackout left much of the island in the dark

González, a Republican and member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, faces significant challenges, including stabilizing the island's power grid, rebuilding infrastructure, and addressing the economic and public debt crises.

González pledged to appoint an energy "czar" to review potential contractual breaches while another operator is found to possibly replace Luma Energy.

Advocating for Puerto Rico's statehood, González assured she would work toward better federal funding and equal opportunities for residents.

Protesters at her inauguration voiced doubts about her ability to bring change — especially as some remained without power — reflecting widespread skepticism.

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Gov. Jenniffer González Colón appointed Josué Colón, executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)*, as “energy czar” to oversee Genera PR and Luma Energy on Jan. 8, pending legislative approval.

Associated Press: Puerto Rico’s new governor appoints an energy czar to tackle the island’s power crisis

Meanwhile, eight days after the Dec. 31 blackout, Luma Energy reported that more than 2,500 clients remained without power. 

Critics have been calling for the cancellation of contracts with the private companies as outages and delays in grid repairs persist. 

González highlighted the need to secure $18 billion in federal funding already allocated to rebuild the island’s electrical infrastructure, which the government has yet to disburse.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has been at the center of the island’s energy challenges, with aging infrastructure, financial instability, and delays in modernization efforts hindering progress. 

PREPA still holds more than $9 billion in debt, the largest of any government agency.

Its debt and reliance on fossil fuels have limited its ability to meet Puerto Rico's renewable energy goals, while privatization efforts have faced criticism for failing to improve reliability. 

The authority’s management of federal recovery funds has also drawn scrutiny.

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U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made her last official visit to Puerto Rico on Jan. 10.

Associated Press: US official warns Puerto Rico of weak power generation as it prepares for a Trump administration

During her visit, Granholm warned of the need for more power generation, noting that Puerto Rico has endured 232 power outages since Hurricane Fiona in 2022 due to insufficient generation. 

Granholm said that only about half of installed generation capacity is online despite U.S. investments of millions of dollars in solar projects generating more than 1,200 megawatts of new renewable capacity.

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón did not attend Granholm’s press conference.

González has criticized the federal government saying it has not yet released $18 billion slated for the island’s power grid. Those projects are largely administered through FEMA.

Why It Matters

Per the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act (Act 17) Puerto Rico has set renewable energy targets of 100% by 2050, with interim targets of 40% by 2025, and 60% by 2040, including the phaseout of coal-fired generation by 2028, and a 30% improvement in energy efficiency by 2040.

Power plants that depend on fossil fuels provide 93% of energy in Puerto Rico. Another 23% is fueled by natural gas, 8% by coal and only 6% by renewables.

For the incoming administration, Donald Trump has selected fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as his energy secretary.

Before we launched Connect Puerto Rico on beehiiv in September, we ran a prelaunch series on Medium from January through August. In these posts, we explored the key stories and issues shaping Puerto Rico’s transition to renewable energy.

If you haven’t already, take a look here and catch up on our reporting so far.

Let us know your thoughts—we’d love to hear from you!

The U.S. Department of Energy is investing $1.2 billion in renewable energy projects across Puerto Rico, aiming to transform the island's fragile power grid and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Associated Press: US announces $1.2 billion to help finance renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico

Where It’s Being Spent

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