Puerto Rico Grid Recovery: Limited Progress Toward Stability and Opportunities Exist to Improve Federal Assistance | U.S. GAO
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GAO-26-107772
Published: Jun 02, 2026. Publicly Released: Jul 02, 2026.
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Fast Facts
Over the last 9 years, a series of natural disasters have disrupted the recovery of Puerto Rico’s electricity grid. More recently, power outages have become more frequent. There are about $14 billion in funds available for grid recovery and modernization projects.
But very little of it has been disbursed, and there hasn't been much progress toward grid stability. Few projects using federal funds have been finished.
Challenges include cumbersome project review processes, staff turnover, project funding complexities, and uncertainty among entities involved in grid recovery.
Our recommendations aim to address these challenges.
FEMA-Funded Pole Replacement and Streetlight Repair Project in the Municipality of Coamo, Puerto Rico
Lineworker standing on bucket truck high in the air, reaches up to a pole while working on replacing it.
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Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Energy (DOE) have obligated about $14 billion for Puerto Rico’s grid recovery and modernization since 2017, but limited funding has been disbursed. About $2.7 billion of about $11.1 billion obligated by FEMA has been disbursed since 2017, largely for equipment and materials and architecture and engineering. In addition to FEMA, HUD and DOE obligated about $2.3 billion and $937 million respectively. However, most of these funds have not been disbursed. Moreover, DOE has reallotted or canceled about $715 million originally for community and low-income households’ solar projects to address grid stability and other needs yet to be determined.
Limited progress has been made toward grid stability in key areas using federal assistance, with nine large FEMA projects complete. Key areas include repairing select transmission lines; modernizing operations; and clearing vegetation from transmission and distribution lines. Stakeholders cited clearing vegetation as an urgent priority; however, as of February 2026, about 400 miles had been cleared using federal funds out of 16,000 miles planned for vegetation clearing.
Examples of Overgrown Vegetation Near Power Lines in Puerto Rico
According to stakeholders GAO interviewed, several factors are hindering progress, including...