NEARLY $600 MILLION IN FEMA FUNDING INJECTION TO REBUILD POWER GRID
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20220613/nearly-600-million-fema-funding-injection-rebuild-power-grid]


Release Date: 
June 13, 2022 

GUAYNABO, PUERTO RICO –─ The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) approved nearly $600 million for the purchase of materials and
equipment needed to rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid. The federal
share will allow for the advance purchase of materials, so that
resources will be available once the reconstruction work begins.

Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, José G. Baquero, explained
that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has already
submitted to the agency an initial list of materials and equipment
that are currently in short supply, that usually have a long-lead time
or that could be impacted by future events.

“This is an extensive requirement which includes the areas of
transmission and distribution, substations and telecommunications. The
goal is to have the materials in time for the work to begin. We are
very excited to see how the work is beginning to take shape,” said
the official.

Among the materials included in this project are about 2,500 circuit
miles of transmission lines, roughly 23 miles of submarine cable for
the municipalities of Vieques and Culebra, over 300 substations,
nearly 200,000 transformers and nearly 13,400 miles of feeders, among
other necessary equipment.

Manuel A. Laboy Rivera, Executive Director of the Central Office for
Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3), said, "This obligation
is the result of the active and proactive work we have executed
together with PREPA, FEMA and the close collaboration with LUMA. I
reiterate that the reconstruction of the electrical grid has already
begun and the purchase of the equipment under this significant
obligation will allow for the streamlined development of other
projects. Currently, we have disbursed $1.6 billion in emergency
categories and $7.1 million for permanent works. As the projects move
forward in their development, and PREPA or LUMA submit their requests
for reimbursement, we will promptly address them so that the money
disbursed will continue to further the reconstruction of other
infrastructure in the electric system.

These funds are in addition to 18 other projects to restore the power
grid for a total of over $700 million. The electric system
reconstruction also has an additional $9.6 million for mitigation
measures, such as replacing poles with ones that can withstand winds
of up to 160 miles per hour, emergency generators to prevent damage to
replacement batteries at substations, and the elevation of substations
located in flood zones.

FEMA has approved over $12.8 billion to PREPA for permanent and
emergency work to address damages from Hurricane Maria and the 2020
Earthquakes. Of this total, $9.4 billion was awarded through FEMA's
Accelerated Awards Strategy (FAAST).

For more information on Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane María,
please visit fema.gov/es/disaster/4339
[http://www.fema.gov/es/disaster/4339] and recuperacion.pr
[http://www.recuperacion.pr/]. Follow our social media pages at
Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico [http://www.facebook.com/femapuertorico],
Facebook.com/COR3pr [http://www.facebook.com/cor3pr] and Twitter
@COR3pr [https://twitter.com/cor3pr].