Officials disagree on Puerto Rico power restoration timeline
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Officials in the U.S. and Puerto Rico gave differing views Thursday on when power will be fully restored to the U.S. territory after Hurricane Maria hit as a Category 4 storm more than a month ago.
Ricardo Ramos, director of the state-owned power company, said the utility has restored 35 per cent of the electrical system’s regular output and expects to reach 50 per cent by mid-November and 95 per cent by mid-December. But Ray Alexander, director of contingency operations at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the corps’ goal is to have 50 per cent restored by the end of November and 75 per cent by the end of January.
“We are focused on executing the mission we’ve been assigned,” Alexander said at a hearing in Washington, adding that the agency has been working with the U.S. Department of Energy to help develop a more resilient electrical grid for Puerto Rico.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello criticized the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this week for what he said was a lack of urgency in responding to Puerto Rico’s island-wide blackout.