By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-09-12 19:14:41 | Updated at 2026-09-12 20:45:38
2 hours ago
PUERTO RICO · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The figure 15 manual load shedding events in July and August 2026, reported by the grid operator.
- —The comparison The whole May to October 2025 season produced 16.
- —The demand August peak demand reached about 3,234 megawatts, the highest in four years.
- —The supply Installed capacity is above 6,500 megawatts. Roughly 3,200 are actually available after outages.
- —The gap A structural shortfall of 700 to 850 megawatts, on the operator’s own numbers.
- —The catch The figure was filed by the company arguing for 800 megawatts of new temporary generation.
The number comes from the company asking regulators to approve 800 megawatts of emergency generation. That does not make it wrong, but it is worth knowing.
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Puerto Rico went through 15 rounds of deliberate load shedding in July and August. The figure comes from the company that runs the island’s transmission and distribution network.
It was submitted in a filing to the energy regulator. The whole of the previous summer season, from May to October 2025, produced 16.
Two months have therefore almost matched six. That is the point the operator is making.
The Arithmetic of the Shortage
Installed generating capacity on the island is above 6,500 megawatts. That number is close to meaningless in practice.
Only about 4,100 megawatts are actually available. After forced outages and scheduled maintenance the usable figure falls to roughly 3,200.
Peak demand in August reached about 3,234 megawatts. That was the highest in four years.
The gap is therefore structural rather than occasional. The operator puts the shortfall at 700 to 850 megawatts.
What a Bad Day Looks Like
Take Saturday 12 September. Three units were offline: two at Costa Sur and one at the AES plant.
Available capacity was about 2,495 megawatts against projected demand of 2,950. That is a negative reserve of 355 megawatts.
The 355 figure already assumes a demand-reduction programme worth roughly 100 megawatts. Without it the gap is 440.
When the reserve goes negative, load shedding is the tool. Customers are cut in rotation to keep the system from collapsing.
How It Got Here
One event stands out. A catastrophic failure at Aguirre Unit 1 in February 2025 removed a critical baseload generator.
The fleet was already old. Most of the island’s firm generation runs on ageing oil and gas plants.
The replacement plan was temporary generation. That is where the politics start.
The Cancelled Contract
On 18 August the power authority cancelled a contract with a company called Power Expectations. It covered 400 megawatts.
The reported value was US$5.9 billion. The governor’s public position on it was that it should be cancelled.
The company has sued in federal court to have the contract reinstated. That litigation is active.
The cancellation left a hole. On 19 and 20 August the energy regulator ordered the operator to update its statement of what temporary generation the island needs.
That order is what produced the filing containing the 15-event figure. The sequence matters when you read the number.
Reading the Number Honestly
The load shedding count is the operator’s own. It was filed by a company asking a regulator to approve about 800 megawatts of emergency capacity.
That does not make it false. Regulatory filings carry consequences for inaccuracy.
It does mean the figure serves an argument. A second, independent count has not been published.
The operator’s worst case is stark. It describes up to 47 days of interruptions if demand rises ten percent and another baseload unit is lost.
The Political Fight
Relations between the government and the operator are poor. The governor has publicly accused it of wanting to sow chaos.
The legislature is summoning the power authority’s head over the failed temporary generation deal. The regulator has been demanding status updates and calendar dates for months.
None of that adds a megawatt. The winter months bring lower demand and some relief.
The test comes next summer. Unless firm capacity arrives before then, the same arithmetic produces the same result.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many outages were there?
15 manual load shedding events in July and August 2026, according to the grid operator’s filing to the energy regulator.
Is that unusual?
Yes. The entire May to October 2025 season produced 16, so two months in 2026 nearly matched six months in 2025.
Why is there not enough power?
Installed capacity exceeds 6,500 megawatts but only about 3,200 are usable after outages and maintenance, against August peak demand of about 3,234.
What happened to the emergency generation plan?
A 400-megawatt contract with Power Expectations, reported at US$5.9 billion, was cancelled on 18 August 2026. The company is suing to reinstate it.
Who produced the 15-event figure?
The grid operator itself, in a filing supporting its request for about 800 megawatts of temporary generation.
Sources: Metro Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Dia, NotiCel, El Vocero.
