1 00:00:01,966 --> 00:00:04,600 JUDY WOODRUFF: It's hard to fully comprehend, but more than four months since hurricanes 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:09,566 swept through the Caribbean, about half of Puerto Ricans remain without electricity. 3 00:00:09,566 --> 00:00:14,566 This week, Governor Ricardo Rossello announced the island's public energy monopoly would 4 00:00:16,033 --> 00:00:20,133 be sold off to private companies following a series of scandals. 5 00:00:20,133 --> 00:00:25,133 In the first of two reports from Puerto Rico, special correspondent Monica Villamizar looks 6 00:00:27,066 --> 00:00:30,633 at what's behind the delay in restoring power and how people are coping. 7 00:00:32,633 --> 00:00:35,700 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: When Hurricane Maria struck in September, fires broke out and victims 8 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:40,700 had to run to the station to inform firefighter Ronald Vega and his colleagues. 9 00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:43,133 There was no way to dial 911. 10 00:00:43,133 --> 00:00:48,133 This fire station in the eastern town of Naguabo is now functioning normally. 11 00:00:49,533 --> 00:00:52,933 But at Ronald Vega's home nearby, there is no electricity. 12 00:00:52,933 --> 00:00:57,400 He uses a generator at night and relies on emergency food aid. 13 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,833 The signs of water damage still loom above his head. 14 00:01:00,833 --> 00:01:04,266 RONALD VEGA, Firefighter (through translator): It's not easy. 15 00:01:04,266 --> 00:01:06,333 It's such a tough situation. 16 00:01:06,333 --> 00:01:10,466 I'm paying at least $15 a day for the fuel of my generator during the week. 17 00:01:10,466 --> 00:01:12,533 That's every day. 18 00:01:12,533 --> 00:01:16,233 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: As a firefighter, Vega makes less than $20,000 a year. 19 00:01:16,233 --> 00:01:21,233 Before the storm he was already supplementing his income with part-time work at Walgreens. 20 00:01:23,466 --> 00:01:28,466 Four months after the storm, about 450,000 of the 1.5 million electricity customers are 21 00:01:29,933 --> 00:01:31,833 without service. 22 00:01:31,833 --> 00:01:36,666 Blackouts occur regularly our hours at a time, even in San Juan. 23 00:01:38,133 --> 00:01:41,133 Outside the capital, destruction remains. 24 00:01:41,133 --> 00:01:46,133 In Salinas, home to the island's largest power plant, Barber Julio Ortiz set up shop at a 25 00:01:46,900 --> 00:01:49,000 ruined gas station. 26 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,433 It took him three months to find an inverter to connect his razors to the car battery. 27 00:01:52,433 --> 00:01:55,833 MAN (through translator) People have to survive one way or another. 28 00:01:55,833 --> 00:01:59,933 I have to make it happen somehow because, you know, money doesn't grow on trees. 29 00:01:59,933 --> 00:02:03,333 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: The response here remains an emergency. 30 00:02:03,333 --> 00:02:07,833 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinates repairs by private contractors using dollars 31 00:02:07,833 --> 00:02:10,966 from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 32 00:02:10,966 --> 00:02:14,733 WOMAN: We're standing at the lay-down yard where all of our large items come into. 33 00:02:14,733 --> 00:02:19,500 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: The Army Corps oversees materials distributed across the island, but 34 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:24,500 under the federal Stafford Act, FEMA is only allowed to restore infrastructure exactly 35 00:02:25,366 --> 00:02:27,433 as it was before a disaster. 36 00:02:27,433 --> 00:02:30,900 In some cases, materials in Puerto Rico were so outdated that the Corps had to get them 37 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:33,533 made especially for the island, furthering delays. 38 00:02:33,533 --> 00:02:36,000 COL. 39 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,600 JOHN LLOYD, Army Corps of Engineers: It really doesn't allow us to do more resilient or hardening 40 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,200 work that made that Puerto Rico's grid definitely needs. 41 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,333 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Colonel John Lloyd directs the Army Corps' operation from the headquarters 42 00:02:45,333 --> 00:02:47,333 of the electricity utility. 43 00:02:47,333 --> 00:02:50,966 What's the point of restoring it to something old and essentially in bad shape? 44 00:02:50,966 --> 00:02:53,033 COL. 45 00:02:53,033 --> 00:02:56,966 JOHN LLOYD: The work that we are doing does - - it brings it up to code, and in many cases 46 00:02:57,866 --> 00:03:00,933 the grid wasn't to current code. 47 00:03:00,933 --> 00:03:03,633 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: And when do you think everybody will have power again? 48 00:03:03,633 --> 00:03:05,166 COL. 49 00:03:05,166 --> 00:03:07,200 JOHN LLOYD: We will slowly get more customers online. 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,900 I think by the middle of March, end of March, we're going to see the majority of customers 51 00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:11,966 with power. 52 00:03:11,966 --> 00:03:15,233 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Many people have accused Puerto Rico's only electric utility company, 53 00:03:15,233 --> 00:03:18,700 PREPA, of being corrupt and wasteful. 54 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:23,000 Before the storm, PREPA was bankrupt, and it saved money by cutting down on important 55 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,166 maintenance. 56 00:03:25,166 --> 00:03:29,433 After the storm, PREPA contracted Whitefish, a small, Montana-based firm, for repairs it 57 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,133 could not complete. 58 00:03:32,133 --> 00:03:36,200 The contract was canceled, but PREPA still has to pay Whitefish more than $100 million 59 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:38,933 for work done. 60 00:03:38,933 --> 00:03:43,066 And then this week, the Puerto Rican governor announced that PREPA will be privatized over 61 00:03:43,066 --> 00:03:44,133 the next 18 months. 62 00:03:44,133 --> 00:03:46,666 GOV. 63 00:03:46,666 --> 00:03:48,666 RICARDO ROSSELLO, Puerto Rico (through translator): The process will begin for PREPA assets to 64 00:03:48,666 --> 00:03:52,433 be sold to companies who will transform the generation system into a modern, efficient, 65 00:03:52,433 --> 00:03:55,466 and less expensive one for the people. 66 00:03:55,466 --> 00:04:00,500 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: The privatization is not expected to affect the repair schedule. 67 00:04:01,966 --> 00:04:05,100 About 80 percent of electrical infrastructure was destroyed. 68 00:04:05,100 --> 00:04:10,033 PREPA told us that restoring power everyone on the island, not just the majority, is expected 69 00:04:10,033 --> 00:04:14,633 to take at least until May, eight months after Hurricane Maria. 70 00:04:14,633 --> 00:04:18,333 Houses across the countryside are lined with blue tarp on their roofs. 71 00:04:18,333 --> 00:04:22,466 But not everyone is waiting for outside help to move forward with repairs. 72 00:04:22,466 --> 00:04:26,600 ARTURO MASSOL DEYA, Casa Pueblo: We don't depend upon the grid to supply the needs of 73 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,700 Casa Pueblo. 74 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:32,233 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Arturo Massol Deya is the head of Casa Pueblo, an environmental organization 75 00:04:32,233 --> 00:04:34,233 in Adjuntas. 76 00:04:34,233 --> 00:04:38,500 This local community center has been running on solar energy since 1999. 77 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:42,933 The sun powers everything, from industrial coffee grinders to medicine refrigerators, 78 00:04:42,933 --> 00:04:44,366 as well as radio station. 79 00:04:44,366 --> 00:04:47,133 ARTURO MASSOL DEYA: Lighting was a critical thing. 80 00:04:47,133 --> 00:04:52,133 And it was a way to teach people how inexpensive, easy it is to embrace renewable energy sources 81 00:04:55,866 --> 00:05:00,900 like the sun, in which you are less vulnerable, because the capture of the energy and the 82 00:05:04,300 --> 00:05:07,200 utilization of the energy is at the point of consumption. 83 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:12,000 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: Casa Pueblo is technically still connected to the grid. 84 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,766 But it creates so much power that it can send it back into the system. 85 00:05:15,766 --> 00:05:20,000 The Puerto Rican government still hasn't approved regulations for people to provide power to 86 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,033 the grid with solar. 87 00:05:22,033 --> 00:05:25,666 In addition to the costs of infrastructure, that's one more barrier to making alternative 88 00:05:25,666 --> 00:05:27,766 energy widespread. 89 00:05:27,766 --> 00:05:32,066 The government does plan to increase renewable power from only a small amount to 30 percent 90 00:05:32,066 --> 00:05:36,666 of the island's energy, so it can be more prepared for the next hurricane. 91 00:05:36,666 --> 00:05:41,233 This place became a very important power source for the entire community after the hurricane. 92 00:05:41,233 --> 00:05:45,333 People were coming here to charge their phones and get solar lamps and refrigerators. 93 00:05:45,333 --> 00:05:50,333 And the radio station never stopped broadcasting, because it runs on solar power. 94 00:05:52,333 --> 00:05:55,833 It's a community station where people call in to request their favorite salsa songs and 95 00:05:55,833 --> 00:05:59,600 make dedications to friends and family. 96 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:04,300 In the hills around his town, Arturo has installed solar power systems to connect vulnerable 97 00:06:04,300 --> 00:06:08,100 people isolated from the power network. 98 00:06:08,100 --> 00:06:12,400 Jonathan is disabled, living with his grandmother, Luz Leida Plaza. 99 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:17,400 With solar, they have lights and power for their phones and a tiny fridge for medicine. 100 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,333 The same system powers a neighbor's dialysis machine. 101 00:06:21,333 --> 00:06:24,633 LUZ LEIDA PLAZA, Adjuntas (through translator): Before they had a solar system, my neighbor 102 00:06:24,633 --> 00:06:29,600 told me he had to connect his mother's machine to a car battery all night. 103 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,066 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: It's a familiar story to Ronald Vega. 104 00:06:33,066 --> 00:06:38,066 RONALD VEGA (through translator): In some places, they are fighting, fighting to get 105 00:06:41,866 --> 00:06:43,866 electricity. 106 00:06:43,866 --> 00:06:46,233 People in many villages say they feel that they have simply been forgotten. 107 00:06:46,233 --> 00:06:50,233 And that's because, in many places, they are still without power and lights, and it's been 108 00:06:50,233 --> 00:06:54,800 more than 116 days. 109 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:59,800 MONICA VILLAMIZAR: And like Casa Pueblo, his fire station is now prepared. 110 00:07:02,700 --> 00:07:07,700 Thanks to a solar power system brought to the island by Las Vegas firefighters, they 111 00:07:09,033 --> 00:07:11,833 are strong enough to weather the next hurricane. 112 00:07:11,833 --> 00:07:15,533 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Monica Villamizar in Puerto Rico. 113 00:07:15,533 --> 00:07:19,700 JUDY WOODRUFF: And in the coming days, we will continue our series After the Storms 114 00:07:19,700 --> 00:07:22,733 with additional reports from Puerto Rico and from Texas.