- Jul 12, 2018
- 10,830
| TYPE | Infrastructure |
| BUILDER | United States of America |
| CLIENT | United States of America |
| SITE LOCATION | United States of America |
| SECTOR | Energy |
| PROJECT NAME | Puerto Rico Energy Grid Revitalization |
| PROJECT COST | 11,000,000,000.00 |
| COMPLETION DATE | 31/12/2026 |
| PROJECT INFORMATION | The state of the Puerto Rican energy grid is, for American standards, in dire straits. Due to outdated energy technology, a patchwork of short-term fixes, and infrastructure that has been repeatedly damaged over time by tropical storms, the Puerto Rican energy grid finds brownouts in certain sectors to be commonplace and also has to charge customers higher rates so that it can continue to make costly repairs that are not permanent solutions to larger problems. According to the Department of Energy, the average Puerto Rican is without power for 27-hours a year. Brownouts and blackouts cause accidents, disrupt manufacturing and other tasks, can cause issues at health facilities, and can disrupt transportation and commerce infrastructure that is vital for an island-Territory like Puerto Rico. After a survey of the island's energy infrastructure was done by the Department of Energy, DoE sent several recommendations to the Puerto Rican government. The Federal Government approved $11-billion to aid the Puerto Rican government in strengthening and rebuilding its energy infrastructure. In particular, a focus has been put on hardening certain parts of the grid for tropical storms that were a regular, annual occurrence for the island. While the lowest hanging fruit for this project is the high-voltage, large, visible infrastructure that crosses the island and dots it with power substations, substantial focus has also been put on medium and low-voltage energy equipment that transfers power to local communities. In some places, the expensive decision was made to put lines underground, while in other places common-sense decisions were made, such as replacing 50-year-old wooden utility poles with concrete poles. While a substantial focus of the project is in major urban areas, particular care was taken to not neglect rural areas as well. The objective of this project is to bring the Puerto Rican energy grid into the 21st century and make it state of the art, to rebuild the grid so that it is able to withstand the trials that come with tropical tempests, and to ensure that Puerto Ricans have power year-round without major interruptions. |
