Puerto Rico to privatize power as outages continue 

Puerto Rico announced on Sunday that it plans to privatize power generation as the U.S. territory continues to face chronic power outages, according to the island's Public-Private Partnerships Authority.

The board of directors of the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP) unanimously approved the contract that privatizes the country's electricity generation system after a series of meetings in which the details of the project were discussed.

Contracts drafted to effectuate the change will soon be sent to the governing board of Puerto Rico’s power company and then to the territory’s governor for approval, according to a statement from AAPP's Executive Director Fermin Fontanes.

The new contract would mean the end of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, which currently oversees the island’s power management. However, the agency has been accused of corruption and mismanagement, in addition to holding $9 billion in public debt—the largest for any government agency. 

Puerto Rico’s power grid has had long-lasting problems after it was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit the Caribbean territory in September 2017. 

Since then, many of the island’s residents have complained about constant power outages, costly power bills, and other issues surrounding the island’s transmission and distribution of power. 

It remains unknown which company the AAPP selected to take over the power generation for the island. A spokeswoman for the organization said the contract was not yet public but the company selected would be announced soon.