Power still out for 55% of Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico authorities said Friday that nearly half of power customers in the U.S. territory still lack electricity more than three months after Hurricane Maria.

Officials said 55 percent of the nearly 1.5 million customers have power, marking the first time the government has provided that statistic since the Category 4 storm hit on Sept. 20 with winds of up to 154 mph. Officials had previously reported power generation, which stands at nearly 70 percent of pre-storm levels.

“The damage was severe,” power company spokesman Geraldo Quinones said. “A lot of work remains.”

One of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities remains entirely without power, and it’s unclear when some electricity will be restored to the central mountain town of Ciales. Crews this week restored power for the first time to parts of the town of Yabucoa, which received the first hit from Maria.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello had pledged 95 percent power generation by Dec. 15, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said the entire island will have power by May.

Fredyson Martinez, vice president of a union that represents workers with Puerto Rico’s power company, said that a recent review found that 90 percent of industries and 75 percent of businesses already have power, meaning residential areas are disproportionately in the dark.