Energy

Nearly Half Of Puerto Rico Just Hit 100 Days Without Power

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Power remains out for nearly half the island of Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria, a category four storm, wrecked the island Sept. 20.

Puerto Rican officials told The Associated Press Friday, the 100th day since Maria struck, that power had been restored to 55 percent of the island’s residents. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the island will not have full power until May, nearly 8 months after the hurricane.

“The damage was severe,” power company spokesman Geraldo Quinones told TheAP. “A lot of work remains.”

The Army Corps of Engineers has taken the lead in repairing the island’s energy grid after the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the island’s energy company, was forced to cancel a $300 million contract made under suspicious circumstances, The Hill reports.

Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló thought power could be restored by the end of the year. That prediction is now several months off, at least.

Marking 100 days without power for parts of Puerto Rico, San Juan’s Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz slammed President Donald Trump’s response to the disaster, labeling him the “disaster-in-chief” in an interview with ABC News.

Cruz has been highly critical of Trump throughout the recovery process, and has spared with the president over Twitter on the effectiveness of federal assistance. Cruz’s attacks of Trump, however, have not been echoed by other Puerto Rican officials.

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