Nine years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still waiting for help

Nine years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still waiting for help Lawmakers have released a federal audit that found that only 25% of some $14 billion in federal funds obligated for Puerto Rico’s power grid after Hurricane Maria razed it almost a decade ago has reached the U.S. territory - Bookmark Less than a quarter of the $14 billion allocated to rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid after Hurricane Maria has reached the island nearly a decade later, according to a federal audit released Wednesday. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that of the $11 billion FEMA has obligated for grid recovery, only $2.7 billion had been disbursed as of February. The money has largely gone toward equipment, materials and engineering work. "The people of Puerto Rico have waited nine years for their government to keep its word," Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said. "They watched billions get appropriated and almost none of it arrive." Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, triggering the longest blackout in U.S. history. Some communities went nearly a year without power, and the storm is estimated to have caused 2,975 deaths. The audit blamed slow progress on staff turnover, lengthy project reviews and the financial troubles of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, which remains more than $10 billion in debt. It also cited delays caused by a 2025 Homeland Security policy requiring personal approval for expenditures over $100,000, a rule later rescinded. Blackouts remain common. The report found that about half are caused by overgrown vegetation along power lines. Despite plans to clear 16,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines, only about 400 miles had been cleared with federal funding by February. Other agencies have also struggled to spend recovery money. HUD had disbursed just $589 million of its $2.9 billion allocation for grid modernization, while the Energy Department had released about $255 million of the $1 billion it committed. The department also redirected $365 million from planned solar projects to emergency grid repairs and canceled up to $350 million in solar access grants. The GAO urged federal agencies to improve coordination and streamline the rebuilding effort, warning that the complexity of the recovery requires closer collaboration between Washington and Puerto Rico. The Department of Energy and Homeland Security agreed with the recommendations, although DHS said Puerto Rico ultimately remains responsible for rebuilding its electrical grid.