SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� Puerto Rico鈥檚 new governor appointed a so-called energy czar on Wednesday to help pull the U.S. territory out of a power-supply crisis.
The nomination of Josu茅 Col贸n comes days after , leaving nearly all its 3.2 million inhabitants in the dark as they prepared for New Year鈥檚 Eve.
鈥淩ight now, we're in an emergency,鈥� said Gov. Jenniffer Gonz谩lez Col贸n. 鈥淥ur electrical system is in such a precarious situation that anything can cause the power to go out.鈥�
Josu茅 Col贸n is currently the executive director of Puerto Rico鈥檚 Electric Power Authority but would step down if lawmakers approve his new position, which they鈥檙e expected to do in upcoming days. In his new role, he will supervise Genera PR, which oversees the generation of power on the island, and Luma Energy, which handles transmission and distribution.
As outages persist and officials investigate what caused the Dec. 31 blackout, have called on the government to cancel its contracts with the two private power companies.
Last year, the average duration of power interruptions per client in Puerto Rico increased by nearly 20% to 1,432 minutes a year, far above the established benchmark of 102 minutes, according to Puerto Rico鈥檚 Energy Bureau. The average frequency of interruptions also increased last year.
In an update Wednesday, Luma said more than 2,500 clients remain without power and that it would continue cooperating with government officials and others to overcome the grid's 鈥渓atent challenges.鈥�
鈥淚 want to not only send a message that we here are not going to be lenient with contracts made with Puerto Rico鈥檚 government, but that we are going to ensure Puerto Rico has power,鈥� Gonz谩lez told a news conference. She noted that the U.S. government has not yet released $18 billion slated for Puerto Rico鈥檚 crumbling grid, and that Col贸n would push to help obtain those funds.
The federal government has to help stabilize the grid and rebuild it after hit Puerto Rico in September 2017.
The grid, however, was already in a fragile state because of a lack of maintenance and investment when the Category 4 storm hit.
The Associated Press
