President Biden said he spoke with Puerto Rico's governor and energy secretary after power outages occurred across much of the island early Tuesday.
During the meeting, Biden offered Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi much-needed federal aid after more than 1 million Puerto Ricans lost power earlier in the day, the White House said. Biden also directed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to continue providing all assistance to help speed power restoration.
Although power outages are rare in Puerto Rico, power outages do occur on the island. I had a hard time with the power outage. Since 2017 after Hurricane Maria destabilized the region's power grid.
Amid the power outages, the territory's incoming legislators promised to address concerns once they take office.
“Once in office, I will work closely with Congressional leaders and the next administrations in Puerto Rico and the United States to provide real and lasting solutions,” incoming Permanent Secretary Pablo Hernández Rivera declared in a statement.
“Our employees deserve reliable energy and a bright future. We will not settle for anything less.”
Luma Energy, the power company that supplies electricity to Puerto Rico, Service restored to 42% of people by 10:30 p.m. local time. The company said early Tuesday that power to the island would be restored within 24 to 48 hours.
