Puerto Rico’s new governor appoints energy ‘czar’ to tackle the island’s power-supply crisis

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Puerto Rico's new governor appointed a so-called energy czar on Wednesday to help pull the U.S. territory out of a power-supply crisis.

The nomination of Josué Colón comes days after a massive blackout hit the island, leaving nearly all its 3.2 million inhabitants in the dark as they prepared for New Year's Eve.

"Right now, we’re in an emergency," said Gov. Jenniffer González Colón. "Our electrical system is in such a precarious situation that anything can cause the power to go out."

Josué Colón is currently the executive director of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority but would step down if lawmakers approve his new position, which they're expected to do in upcoming days. In his new role, he will supervise Genera PR, which oversees the generation of power on the island, and Luma Energy, which handles transmission and distribution.

As outages persist and officials investigate what caused the Dec. 31 blackout, critics have called on the government to cancel its contracts with the two private power companies.

Last year, the average duration of power interruptions per client in Puerto Rico increased by nearly 20% to 1,432 minutes a year, far above the established benchmark of 102 minutes, according to Puerto Rico's Energy Bureau. The average frequency of interruptions also increased last year.

In an update Wednesday, Luma said more than 2,500 clients remain without power since the Dec. 31 blackout.

"I want to not only send a message that we here are not going to be lenient with contracts made with Puerto Rico's government, but that we are going to ensure Puerto Rico has power," González told a press conference. She noted that the U.S. government has not yet released $18 billion slated for Puerto Rico's crumbling grid, and that Colón would push to help obtain those funds.

The federal government has already released millions of dollars to help stabilize the grid and rebuild it after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017.

The grid, however, was already in a fragile state because of a lack of maintenance and investment when the Category 4 storm hit.