Puerto Rico: Powering Through Setbacks
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico— Feb. 11th, 2018–“Explosion and fire at the Monacillo power plant in San Juan, Puerto Rico cause widespread outages across the northern part of the island”
Just the latest in a series of events perpetuating the longest blackout in U.S. history! On Wednesday, September 20th, 2017, Hurricane Maria struck the main island of Puerto Rico. 155 mph winds and extreme flooding left thousands of homes in ruins and millions without power. We received our first phone call asking for generators that evening. Six months later, 400,000 are still without power and we are still sending out generators to aid in the rebuilding.
While recovering from Hurricane Irma two weeks prior, the tiny U.S. territory was slammed by the category 4 Maria, the costliest natural disaster in its history. Almost $100 billion in damage was done, including the destruction of the already aged and struggling power grid. Powerlines all over the group of islands were ripped from their poles, plunging close to 3.4 million people into darkness.
Recovery has been painfully slow, with politics and geography delaying essential aid for months on end. Water has become contaminated, food spoils in the heat. Hospitals were not able to open for over thirty days. These conditions, as well as fears of disease outbreak, such as the recent jump in Leptospirosis cases, prompted over 200,000 Puerto Ricans to flee to the mainland United States, most landing in south Florida and New York.
Formerly a Spanish territory, Puerto Rico was acquired by the US in 1899 under the “Treaty of Paris” following the Spanish American War. The “Rich Port” has a diverse population consisting of mostly Spanish, African, Canarian and Andalusian descendants, though originally populated by the indigenous Taíno people.
Puerto Ricans born after 1898 enjoy full U.S. citizenship under the Jones Act of 1917. Puerto Rico is a major manufacturing hub for medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
The effects of the storm on the production of vital medical supplies, including IV bags, has caused a months-long shortage of these items in the United States.
Since September of 2017, Woodstock Power has sent dozens of generators to Puerto Rico. We have partnered with electricians and engineers on the island to provide insight and advice, at the same time searching the mainland for quality diesel generators to send over. And the work isn’t over yet. NOAA predicts an above-average storm season for 2018, expecting 15 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 MAJOR hurricanes (category 3 or higher). This means we must continue to purchase the highest quality used generators available. If you are interested in upgrading your existing emergency power system, not only can we help you in getting a brand new generator, we will buy your old one as well.
Please call 610-658-3242 with any questions. For more interesting articles and inventory updates, please follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and visit www.woodstockpower.com. We buy, sell, rent, finance and lease used, new and surplus generators.