> ok, if you're American relying on Canadian electricity, you might have a right to be concerned
You don't have to go that far. Puerto Rico is a United States territory with a third-world tier power grid. Most Puerto Ricans rely on electric generators and battery backup systems to survive their day-to-day.
This is bordering a humanitarian crisis and I'm surprised it gets little attention in the mainland. These outages have a real human cost: the elderly struggle with maintaining their generators. Hospitals rely on generators. Roads and sidewalks are in the dark. The haves get diesel delivered; the have-nots struggle. Some, especially the elderly, die in fires or asphyxia due to their constant operation.
A woman died on New Year's Eve due to a fire in her residence while trying to operate a transfer switch. The power was out all night across the island.
Apologies for derailing, but it bothers me how little attention this gets. The privatized power company has successfully externalized its costs--thousands of Puerto Ricans are going into debt to install solar panels. Half of the island lives under the poverty line.
People are desperate. A year ago, the Dept of Energy established federal incentives for solar panel installations in the island. These were the kilometric lines to get a voucher:
Adding another comment because I can no longer edit my original.
- Power instability causes serious economic damage to individuals, families and small businesses. Imagine establishing a business in an island where you don't know if you'll have power today.
- In PR, you don't buy groceries for an entire month. The power goes out once and all your food is ruined. Families bear the brunt of these reliability failures.
- Outages damage your appliances. This is even more economic damage to families and the poor. A couple years ago, in jest, protesters from across the island took their damaged appliances to the power company headquarters and dropped them off there.
- Diabetics have to use generators or special machines to keep their insulin refrigerated.
I could keep going. It's a shame that this absurdity is happening in the wealthiest country in the world.
I support Puerto Rican statehood and representation in US federal elections†.
Until then, I don't see any hope of meaningful federal support in times of Puerto Rican crisis. Too many Americans are not sure whether Hawaii is a state, or if Rhode Island is an island. The amount of time that PR occupies anyone's thoughts in Real America™ is basically nil. Just like Trinidad, or Turks and Caicos. "Oh, I know someone who took a cruise there. They don't speak English do they?" That's it.
† I also support Puerto Rican self-determination and independence. :) But that path will not bring FEMA, or infrastructure investment.
You don't have to go that far. Puerto Rico is a United States territory with a third-world tier power grid. Most Puerto Ricans rely on electric generators and battery backup systems to survive their day-to-day.
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5243984/puerto-rico-pow...
This is bordering a humanitarian crisis and I'm surprised it gets little attention in the mainland. These outages have a real human cost: the elderly struggle with maintaining their generators. Hospitals rely on generators. Roads and sidewalks are in the dark. The haves get diesel delivered; the have-nots struggle. Some, especially the elderly, die in fires or asphyxia due to their constant operation.
https://www.univision.com/local/puerto-rico-wlii/hombre-muer...
https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/policia-tribunales/nota...
A woman died on New Year's Eve due to a fire in her residence while trying to operate a transfer switch. The power was out all night across the island.
https://wapa.tv/noticias/locales/falla-en-planta-el-ctrica-p...
Apologies for derailing, but it bothers me how little attention this gets. The privatized power company has successfully externalized its costs--thousands of Puerto Ricans are going into debt to install solar panels. Half of the island lives under the poverty line.
People are desperate. A year ago, the Dept of Energy established federal incentives for solar panel installations in the island. These were the kilometric lines to get a voucher:
https://www.telemundopr.com/noticias/puerto-rico/cientos-de-...
In short:
a) This is a real problem. Puerto Rico has 3.5 million American citizens, more than some states.
b) Battery backup systems, solar panel installations and generators are a necessity in these areas.
I wish this product was targeted towards lower income families, but any innovation in the space is welcome.