Summary: A fire at a substation in Northern Puerto Rico lead to a blackout. This is a huge setback considering Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria months after it wreaked havoc on the country. They have been trying to fully restore power for nearly five months and this blackout is yet another challenge in their recovery efforts. Since the hurricane, 400,00 power customers are still left without power. While the fire subsided quickly and power was restored in some areas, this fire highlights the fact that much of the power equipment was old and needed to be replaced but due to the financial crisis was left in disrepair. Additionally, the power authorities are left with 9 billion dollars worth of debt.
Questions:
1. The power authority is a government run business, if this were a run in the private sector do you think they would have the same issues?
2. Do you think this is an area that the US should get involved in?
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/us/puerto-rico-blackout-power-station-explosion-hurricane-maria.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
5 comments:
Hearing this news is very upsetting, especially considering that they have recently restored electricity to 75% of Puerto Ricans. This explosion just came as a huge punch to Puerto Rico's hard work and dedication to restoring their own society. With that said, it's possible that things would have changed if it was run in the private sector, however, knowing that whatever caused the explosion that led to the fire is unknown, it really wouldn't be wise to think so just yet. Furthermore, I don't see why our government hasn't really made that much of an effort in assisting them with the recovery. It took them months before they passed a disaster relief fund, but not much else has really gone down. Puerto Rico should be treated the same as other states, despite being a territory. I hope Congress realizes how big of an issue this really is and make this a priority.
I do believe that the US should get involved in helping Puerto Rico. Like Miguel said, it seems like they lack to help the Puerto Rico it times of need which seems unfair because not only are they part of our territory, but let's not forget they contribute to our economy by paying taxes.
If the energy were run in the private sector, it is possible that certain issues could have been avoided, however, depending on the intensity of the fire, the issues also could have been impossible to avoid. The government and private sector can only do so much in a situation where conditions are bad, and then disaster strikes. This is definitely something the US government needs to get involved in, and the fact that they haven't yet is unbelievable. In fact, the very idea that our commander in chief has actively publicly stated that the Puerto Rico heads of state have been doing a poor job is simply hypocritical.
if the energy was run in the private sector it would recover quicker, but be in less control of the goverment. there is alot fo power in the street in terms of people with the money and materials to help, but the government impairs their ability to. because the government is in charge of power backup, the private sectors cannot take matter into their own hand. I believe the US should help. it had been almost a half of a year and still no solution. Being that puetro rico is an ally of the us,the us should lend assistance.
If the energy was run by a private sector I think it would recover faster like others said before, but the problems still would have occurred. I also believe that the U.S. should take part in this problem to help out. We should take part in the recovery effort.
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