Build Back Better: Reimagining and Strengthening the Power Grid of Puerto Rico

Rebuilding for the Future

The magnitude of devastation to the Puerto Rico electric power system after two back to back hurricanes presents an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild and transform the system to one that is hardened, smarter, more efficient, cleaner, and less dependent on fossil fuel imports.

As a member of the Puerto Rico Energy Resiliency Working Group, SEPA helped write this report to support Puerto Rico Governor’s Office, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), interested stakeholder agencies, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in defining first level funding requirements and electric power system rebuild recommendations.

What’s in the report

Recommendations include overall modernization to the Puerto Rico electric grid, leveraging proven power system technologies to better contain outages, reducing recovery times, lowering operations costs, and enabling more sustainable energy resources.

As steps to achieve a more modern, resilient grid, the report includes:

• An assessment of the electric power system storm damage in Puerto Rico from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017
• A description for a new, more resilient system designed with modern grid technologies and control systems
• Rebuild recommendations for the Puerto Rico Power and Grid Resiliency Rebuild Initiative

The final recommendations discuss modern electrical system technology options and incorporate lessons learned from the successful rebuild efforts in other regions post natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy in New York. The total estimated costs for rebuild from this report were incorporated into the “Power Grid and Resiliency” section in the formal Request for Federal Assistance for Disaster Recovery report to Congress, sent by Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rosselló in November 2017.