Guaynabo, Puerto Rico – Nearly $55.3 million in federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were allocated for the second construction phase at the Costa Sur Power Plant in Guayanilla. This allocation to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is part of the total obligation of about $9.5 billion for the restoration of the island's power grid through the agency's Accelerated Award Strategy (FAASt).
“All work to strengthen Puerto Rico's power grid is a priority for FEMA. We recognize the importance of having the grid working in optimal and robust condition, as it has an overall impact on the island, from health, education and the economy, to the homes of every citizen. Having a solid grid will help us face other emergencies and future disasters,” said FEMA Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator José G. Baquero.
The FAASt strategy allows critical infrastructure projects with similar damage to be grouped together to expedite Hurricane María recovery efforts. It reduces the time and resources that would be required to inspect thousands of damaged facilities.
The focus of this allocation for the Costa Sur thermoelectric generation plant — that produces energy for transmission and distribution plants around the island — is to repair the facility. The most outstanding works are the replacement of existing infrastructure and transmission circuit breakers, the construction of new control facilities to include protection, control and metering equipment, and the replacement of existing transformers. In addition, an emergency transformer and a spare transformer will be purchased.
To date, Costa Sur has over $125 million in FEMA funds under Hurricane María FAASt obligations; in addition to over $15 million for damage following the 2020 Earthquakes.
One of the previous allocations to this thermoelectric plant was nearly $21 million to replace equipment at the substation, such as oil circuit breakers and two gas circuit breakers with 13 new gas circuit breakers; and to install new disconnecting switches, among others.
These obligations, as well as other initiatives in which FEMA provides financial and technical assistance — such as the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) — are part of the agency’s collaboration with the Government of Puerto Rico to achieve the goal of transitioning to renewable energy by 2050.
To date, FEMA has obligated over $32 billion for more than 10,900 Hurricane María recovery projects and nearly $916 million for nearly 800 projects to address damage from the 2020 Earthquakes.
For more information about Puerto Rico’s recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339, fema.gov/disaster/4473 and recovery.pr. Follow us on our social media at Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico, Facebook.com/COR3pr and Twitter @COR3pr.
Costa Sur Thermoelectric Generation Plant, Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
Guayanilla, Puerto Rico (September 9, 2021) – FEMA allocated nearly $55.3 million for the second reconstruction phase at the Costa Sur Power Plant in Guayanilla. This allocation to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is part of the total obligation by FEMA of about $9.5 billion for the restoration of the island's power grid. Photo FEMA/Eliezer Hernández