WEBVTT 00:01.966 --> 00:04.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: It's hard to fully comprehend, but more than four months since hurricanes 00:04.600 --> 00:09.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% swept through the Caribbean, about half of Puerto Ricans remain without electricity. 00:09.566 --> 00:14.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This week, Governor Ricardo Rossello announced the island's public energy monopoly would 00:16.033 --> 00:20.133 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% be sold off to private companies following a series of scandals. 00:20.133 --> 00:25.133 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% In the first of two reports from Puerto Rico, special correspondent Monica Villamizar looks 00:27.066 --> 00:30.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% at what's behind the delay in restoring power and how people are coping. 00:32.633 --> 00:35.700 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: When Hurricane Maria struck in September, fires broke out and victims 00:35.700 --> 00:40.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% had to run to the station to inform firefighter Ronald Vega and his colleagues. 00:40.700 --> 00:43.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% There was no way to dial 911. 00:43.133 --> 00:48.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This fire station in the eastern town of Naguabo is now functioning normally. 00:49.533 --> 00:52.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% But at Ronald Vega's home nearby, there is no electricity. 00:52.933 --> 00:57.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% He uses a generator at night and relies on emergency food aid. 00:57.400 --> 01:00.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The signs of water damage still loom above his head. 01:00.833 --> 01:04.266 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% RONALD VEGA, Firefighter (through translator): It's not easy. 01:04.266 --> 01:06.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It's such a tough situation. 01:06.333 --> 01:10.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I'm paying at least $15 a day for the fuel of my generator during the week. 01:10.466 --> 01:12.533 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% That's every day. 01:12.533 --> 01:16.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: As a firefighter, Vega makes less than $20,000 a year. 01:16.233 --> 01:21.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Before the storm he was already supplementing his income with part-time work at Walgreens. 01:23.466 --> 01:28.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Four months after the storm, about 450,000 of the 1.5 million electricity customers are 01:29.933 --> 01:31.833 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% without service. 01:31.833 --> 01:36.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Blackouts occur regularly our hours at a time, even in San Juan. 01:38.133 --> 01:41.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Outside the capital, destruction remains. 01:41.133 --> 01:46.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% In Salinas, home to the island's largest power plant, Barber Julio Ortiz set up shop at a 01:46.900 --> 01:49.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% ruined gas station. 01:49.000 --> 01:52.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It took him three months to find an inverter to connect his razors to the car battery. 01:52.433 --> 01:55.833 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% MAN (through translator) People have to survive one way or another. 01:55.833 --> 01:59.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I have to make it happen somehow because, you know, money doesn't grow on trees. 01:59.933 --> 02:03.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: The response here remains an emergency. 02:03.333 --> 02:07.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinates repairs by private contractors using dollars 02:07.833 --> 02:10.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 02:10.966 --> 02:14.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WOMAN: We're standing at the lay-down yard where all of our large items come into. 02:14.733 --> 02:19.500 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: The Army Corps oversees materials distributed across the island, but 02:19.500 --> 02:24.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% under the federal Stafford Act, FEMA is only allowed to restore infrastructure exactly 02:25.366 --> 02:27.433 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% as it was before a disaster. 02:27.433 --> 02:30.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% In some cases, materials in Puerto Rico were so outdated that the Corps had to get them 02:30.900 --> 02:33.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% made especially for the island, furthering delays. 02:33.533 --> 02:36.000 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% COL. 02:36.000 --> 02:38.600 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JOHN LLOYD, Army Corps of Engineers: It really doesn't allow us to do more resilient or hardening 02:38.600 --> 02:41.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% work that made that Puerto Rico's grid definitely needs. 02:41.200 --> 02:45.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Colonel John Lloyd directs the Army Corps' operation from the headquarters 02:45.333 --> 02:47.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of the electricity utility. 02:47.333 --> 02:50.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% What's the point of restoring it to something old and essentially in bad shape? 02:50.966 --> 02:53.033 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% COL. 02:53.033 --> 02:56.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JOHN LLOYD: The work that we are doing does - - it brings it up to code, and in many cases 02:57.866 --> 03:00.933 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% the grid wasn't to current code. 03:00.933 --> 03:03.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: And when do you think everybody will have power again? 03:03.633 --> 03:05.166 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% COL. 03:05.166 --> 03:07.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JOHN LLOYD: We will slowly get more customers online. 03:07.200 --> 03:09.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I think by the middle of March, end of March, we're going to see the majority of customers 03:09.900 --> 03:11.966 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% with power. 03:11.966 --> 03:15.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Many people have accused Puerto Rico's only electric utility company, 03:15.233 --> 03:18.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% PREPA, of being corrupt and wasteful. 03:18.700 --> 03:23.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Before the storm, PREPA was bankrupt, and it saved money by cutting down on important 03:23.000 --> 03:25.166 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% maintenance. 03:25.166 --> 03:29.433 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% After the storm, PREPA contracted Whitefish, a small, Montana-based firm, for repairs it 03:30.200 --> 03:32.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% could not complete. 03:32.133 --> 03:36.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The contract was canceled, but PREPA still has to pay Whitefish more than $100 million 03:36.800 --> 03:38.933 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% for work done. 03:38.933 --> 03:43.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And then this week, the Puerto Rican governor announced that PREPA will be privatized over 03:43.066 --> 03:44.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% the next 18 months. 03:44.133 --> 03:46.666 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% GOV. 03:46.666 --> 03:48.666 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% RICARDO ROSSELLO, Puerto Rico (through translator): The process will begin for PREPA assets to 03:48.666 --> 03:52.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% be sold to companies who will transform the generation system into a modern, efficient, 03:52.433 --> 03:55.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and less expensive one for the people. 03:55.466 --> 04:00.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: The privatization is not expected to affect the repair schedule. 04:01.966 --> 04:05.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% About 80 percent of electrical infrastructure was destroyed. 04:05.100 --> 04:10.033 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% PREPA told us that restoring power everyone on the island, not just the majority, is expected 04:10.033 --> 04:14.633 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% to take at least until May, eight months after Hurricane Maria. 04:14.633 --> 04:18.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Houses across the countryside are lined with blue tarp on their roofs. 04:18.333 --> 04:22.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But not everyone is waiting for outside help to move forward with repairs. 04:22.466 --> 04:26.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% ARTURO MASSOL DEYA, Casa Pueblo: We don't depend upon the grid to supply the needs of 04:26.600 --> 04:28.700 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Casa Pueblo. 04:28.700 --> 04:32.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Arturo Massol Deya is the head of Casa Pueblo, an environmental organization 04:32.233 --> 04:34.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% in Adjuntas. 04:34.233 --> 04:38.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This local community center has been running on solar energy since 1999. 04:38.500 --> 04:42.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The sun powers everything, from industrial coffee grinders to medicine refrigerators, 04:42.933 --> 04:44.366 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% as well as radio station. 04:44.366 --> 04:47.133 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% ARTURO MASSOL DEYA: Lighting was a critical thing. 04:47.133 --> 04:52.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And it was a way to teach people how inexpensive, easy it is to embrace renewable energy sources 04:55.866 --> 05:00.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% like the sun, in which you are less vulnerable, because the capture of the energy and the 05:04.300 --> 05:07.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% utilization of the energy is at the point of consumption. 05:07.200 --> 05:12.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Casa Pueblo is technically still connected to the grid. 05:12.000 --> 05:15.766 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% But it creates so much power that it can send it back into the system. 05:15.766 --> 05:20.000 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% The Puerto Rican government still hasn't approved regulations for people to provide power to 05:20.000 --> 05:22.033 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% the grid with solar. 05:22.033 --> 05:25.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% In addition to the costs of infrastructure, that's one more barrier to making alternative 05:25.666 --> 05:27.766 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% energy widespread. 05:27.766 --> 05:32.066 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% The government does plan to increase renewable power from only a small amount to 30 percent 05:32.066 --> 05:36.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% of the island's energy, so it can be more prepared for the next hurricane. 05:36.666 --> 05:41.233 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% This place became a very important power source for the entire community after the hurricane. 05:41.233 --> 05:45.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% People were coming here to charge their phones and get solar lamps and refrigerators. 05:45.333 --> 05:50.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And the radio station never stopped broadcasting, because it runs on solar power. 05:52.333 --> 05:55.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's a community station where people call in to request their favorite salsa songs and 05:55.833 --> 05:59.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% make dedications to friends and family. 05:59.600 --> 06:04.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% In the hills around his town, Arturo has installed solar power systems to connect vulnerable 06:04.300 --> 06:08.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% people isolated from the power network. 06:08.100 --> 06:12.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Jonathan is disabled, living with his grandmother, Luz Leida Plaza. 06:12.400 --> 06:17.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% With solar, they have lights and power for their phones and a tiny fridge for medicine. 06:18.800 --> 06:21.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The same system powers a neighbor's dialysis machine. 06:21.333 --> 06:24.633 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% LUZ LEIDA PLAZA, Adjuntas (through translator): Before they had a solar system, my neighbor 06:24.633 --> 06:29.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% told me he had to connect his mother's machine to a car battery all night. 06:29.600 --> 06:33.066 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: It's a familiar story to Ronald Vega. 06:33.066 --> 06:38.066 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% RONALD VEGA (through translator): In some places, they are fighting, fighting to get 06:41.866 --> 06:43.866 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% electricity. 06:43.866 --> 06:46.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% People in many villages say they feel that they have simply been forgotten. 06:46.233 --> 06:50.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And that's because, in many places, they are still without power and lights, and it's been 06:50.233 --> 06:54.800 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% more than 116 days. 06:54.800 --> 06:59.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MONICA VILLAMIZAR: And like Casa Pueblo, his fire station is now prepared. 07:02.700 --> 07:07.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Thanks to a solar power system brought to the island by Las Vegas firefighters, they 07:09.033 --> 07:11.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% are strong enough to weather the next hurricane. 07:11.833 --> 07:15.533 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Monica Villamizar in Puerto Rico. 07:15.533 --> 07:19.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And in the coming days, we will continue our series After the Storms 07:19.700 --> 07:22.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% with additional reports from Puerto Rico and from Texas.