Restoring Power To Puerto Rico’s Last 2 Percent

VPM | By Adrian Florido, Nick Michael and Andy Huether

Published May 3, 2018 at 6:42 PM EDT

Updated April 20, 2023

Editor’s note: The 360-degree video above has 360 audio and is best experienced with headphones. Scroll around for an immersive experience.

In the mountainous regions of Puerto Rico, tens of thousands of residents are still waiting for the lights to come back on. Why is power restoration for the last 2 percent of people taking so long?

One reason is the rugged terrain, which makes it difficult to get large poles and heavy machinery to the island’s most remote communities. Often, helicopters are the only way. Power crews are at work daily, but returns are diminishing. It takes more and more effort to energize fewer and fewer homes.

When the lights come back on after so long, it can feel like a rebirth. Neighborhoods erupt in celebration and shouts of joy echo across valleys.

Federal and local officials say everyone on the island will have their power back before the start of hurricane season on June 1. Many people doubt it’ll happen. With less than a month to go, it’s a waiting game.

Watch the video here.

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Adrian Florido

Adrian Florido is a national correspondent for NPR covering race and identity in America.

He was previously a reporter for NPR's Code Switch team.

His beat takes him around the country to report on major flashpoints over race and racism, but also on the quieter nuances and complexities of how race is lived and experienced in the United States.

In 2018 he was based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria while on a yearlong special assignment for NPR's National Desk.

Before joining NPR in 2015, he was a reporter at NPR member station KPCC in Los Angeles, covering public health. Before that, he was the U.S.-Mexico border reporter at KPBS in San Diego. He began his career as a staff writer at the Voice of San Diego.

Adrian is a Southern California native. He was news editor of the Chicago Maroon, the student paper at the University of Chicago, where he studied history. He's also an organizer of the Fandango Fronterizo, an annual event during which musicians gather on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and play together through the fence that separates the two countries.

See stories by Adrian Florido