WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today renewed two emergency orders to further strengthen Puerto Rico’s electric grid as the island prepares for rising energy demand and the upcoming 2026 hurricane season. Building on previous actions in 2025 and early 2026, the renewed emergency orders authorize the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to dispatch generation units essential for maintaining critical generation capacity, while continuing vegetation management to reduce outages, strengthen long-term grid reliability, and minimize the cost of blackouts.

“The Department of Energy will continue modernizing Puerto Rico’s electric grid to ensure the island achieves long-term resilience and reliability,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Renewing these orders ensures critical work moves forward, urgent reliability changes are addressed, and Puerto Rico’s grid is ready to withstand rising energy demand. Thanks to President Trump, there have been no island-wide blackouts in a year, and significant, lasting progress is being made in Puerto Rico.”

By allowing generators to exceed normal permitting limits, the emergency orders are addressing the ongoing energy emergency and preventing costly, island-wide blackouts. The orders also address vegetation management issues near high-voltage lines. Falling tree limbs or brush during Puerto Rico’s frequent storms and high winds can damage transmission lines, cause widespread outages, and potentially cause wildfires.  

“I welcome the Department of Energy’s issuance of the Section 202(c) emergency orders for Puerto Rico, which have been instrumental in stabilizing our grid and increasing generation capacity.  These orders have literally kept the lights on, and I could not be more grateful to President Trump and Secretary Wright for their steadfast support for the island’s 3.2 million Americans.  I look forward to our continued partnership as we take additional measures to strengthen and modernize Puerto Rico’s electric system,” said Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón.  

The renewed orders are in effect beginning on May 12, 2026, through August 9, 2026. DOE will continue working closely with Governor González-Colón and local authorities to ensure Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million Americans are not burdened will costly blackouts and have access to a reliable and secure electric grid.

Background:

On May 16, 2025, DOE issued two emergency orders to PREPA under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act that allowed specific generation units to operate under certain conditions while directing vegetation management along key transmission lines.  

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