Puerto Rico’s preventable grid disaster

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On September 18, almost exactly five years after Hurricane Maria wiped out Puerto Rico's electric grid, Hurricane Fiona once again pushed the island’s electric system to failure.

Earlier this year, we brought Canary Media reporter Maria Gallucci on the show to talk about Puerto Rico’s grid failures in the months and years after Hurricane Maria – and the boom in grassroots solar projects as a response. 

She’s been reporting on Fiona's aftermath. Sadly, it's a similar story to Hurricane Maria. Nearly two weeks after the storm, one third of the island's residents still don't have access to power, and many are still lacking water. 

But the storyline has changed for some. There are now tens of thousands more solar and battery systems on the island. And there were communities that kept the lights on. 

This week, we're talking about Fiona's impact on Puerto Rico's grid system – why it’s still broken, and how solar and batteries could help fix it.

Guest: Maria Galluci, a reporter at Canary Media. You can read her latest reporting here.

The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

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