Bad Bunny Shines Light on Puerto Rico's Power Crisis ^{CEFR B2}

At Super Bowl LX Bad Bunny turned a halftime performance into a statement about Puerto Rico's power system. Performing "El Apagón" ("The Blackout"), he staged dancers dressed as linieros climbing utility poles while sparks appeared on power lines. For many viewers the scene was striking; for many Puerto Ricans it reflected everyday life under a fragile grid.

The island's electricity network has struggled since Hurricane Maria in 2017, which destroyed much of the grid and triggered the longest modern U.S. blackout. The system relies heavily on centralised fossil‑fuel plants in the south, and transmission must cross mountainous terrain to reach northern population centres, leaving corridors vulnerable to hurricanes, landslides and extreme weather. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the system an F in 2019, observing deteriorating equipment and limited resilience planning.

Attempts to change the system have been mixed. In 2021 transmission and distribution management moved to LUMA Energy, a U.S.‑Canadian consortium, a privatisation that prompted protests over outages and rising bills while supporters said rebuilding takes time. PREPA carries large debt and federal assistance has varied. In 2023 the U.S. Department of Energy launched a USD 1 billion Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund aimed at rooftop solar and battery storage for vulnerable households, though some funding was delayed or redirected. Despite the challenges, rooftop solar capacity grew quickly and, by mid‑2025, the island had installed more than one gigawatt of rooftop solar.

Local initiatives also strengthen resilience. Nonprofits in towns such as Adjuntas created solar microgrids that keep neighbourhoods and businesses running when the central grid fails. Engineers advocate a "bottom‑up" grid of distributed systems to advance decarbonisation and energy security. Experts said Bad Bunny's performance made infrastructure visible to a global audience; as Diana Hernández put it, the moment gave "voice and visibility" to the literal experience of being powerless and also suggested an ascension to power despite the odds.