The first annual Puerto Rico Grid Revitalization & Investment Forum (PR-GRID) is focused on a revitalized and resilient grid for Puerto Rico. Join key Puerto Rican stakeholders as they explore opportunities for energy investment and engagement in the country.
Event: Puerto Rico Grid Revitalization and Investment Forum (PR-GRID)
Dates: May 8-9, 2018
Location: Intercontinental Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Details: For more information or to register, please visit newenergyevents.com/pr-grid.
In Puerto Rico, we’re still feeling the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Electrical infrastructure remains fragile. A long-term strategy for resilience is yet to emerge. As the next hurricane season approaches, headlines have appeared questioning whether we are any more resilient today than yesterday.
There is no lack of will in Puerto Rico to get this done. Bystanders often point to political in-fighting, and there are certainly differences of opinion. But everyone wants to keep the lights on and the economic engines churning. The reality, however, is complicated: PREPA was bankrupt before the storm, and federal funding agencies have a view of PREPA’s future that doesn’t always mesh with the views of the Commonwealth. Fundamental decisions must be made on whether the grid remains centralized around PREPA or decentralized among interconnected microgrids.
Meanwhile, many in the private sector have solutions they’d like to deploy, investments they could make. Providers of microgrids, solar, storage, natural gas, wind—all are keen to engage and are waiting for clarity from policy-makers and definition from regulators.
PR-GRID was convened to gather, on a depoliticized platform, all those stakeholders. We can’t expect just a single narrative to emerge from proceedings, but we regard PR-GRID as a catalyzing agent to build consensus and frame a scenario in which the public and private sector can collaborate to keep the lights on in Puerto Rico.