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> ok, if you're American relying on Canadian electricity, you might have a right to be concerned You don't have to go that far. Puerto Rico is a United States

> ok, if you're American relying on Canadian electricity, you might have a right to be concerned You don't have to go that far. Puerto Rico is a United States territory with a third-world tier power grid. Most Puerto Ricans rely on electric generators and battery backup systems to survive their day-to-day. https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5243984/puerto-rico-power-outage-blackout-new-years-eve https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5243984/puerto-rico-pow... This is bordering a humanitarian crisis and I'm surprised it gets little attention in the mainland. These outages have a real human cost: the elderly struggle with maintaining their generators. Hospitals rely on generators. Roads and sidewalks are in the dark. The haves get diesel delivered; the have-nots struggle. Some, especially the elderly, die in fires or asphyxia due to their constant operation. https://www.univision.com/local/puerto-rico-wlii/hombre-muere-calcinado-accidente-planta-electrica-incendios https://www.univision.com/local/puerto-rico-wlii/hombre-muer... https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/policia-tribunales/notas/bomberos-han-atendido-24-emergencias-con-generadores-electricos/ https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/policia-tribunales/nota... A woman died on New Year's Eve due to a fire in her residence while trying to operate a transfer switch. The power was out all night across the island. https://wapa.tv/noticias/locales/falla-en-planta-el-ctrica-provoca-fuego-en-que-muri-mujer-de-93-a-os/article_811bf0c6-8265-11ef-ab9f-334b8cc9881b.html https://wapa.tv/noticias/locales/falla-en-planta-el-ctrica-p... Apologies for derailing, but it bothers me how little attention this gets. The privatized power company has successfully externalized its costs--thousands of Puerto Ricans are going into debt to install solar panels. Half of the island lives under the poverty line. People are desperate. A year ago, the Dept of Energy established federal incentives for solar panel installations in the island. These were the kilometric lines to get a voucher: https://www.telemundopr.com/noticias/puerto-rico/cientos-de-ciudadanos-hacen-fila-para-obtener-vale-para-placas-solares/2574261/ https://www.telemundopr.com/noticias/puerto-rico/cientos-de-... In short: a) This is a real problem. Puerto Rico has 3.5 million American citizens, more than some states. b) Battery backup systems, solar panel installations and generators are a necessity in these areas. I wish this product was targeted towards lower income families, but any innovation in the space is welcome.

sergiomattei 2y ago
Adding another comment because I can no longer edit my original. - Power instability causes serious economic damage to individuals, families and small businesses. Imagine establishing a business in an island where you don't know if you'll have power today. - In PR, you don't buy groceries for an entire month. The power goes out once and all your food is ruined. Families bear the brunt of these reliability failures. - Outages damage your appliances. This is even more economic damage to families and the poor. A couple years ago, in jest, protesters from across the island took their damaged appliances to the power company headquarters and dropped them off there. - Diabetics have to use generators or special machines to keep their insulin refrigerated. I could keep going. It's a shame that this absurdity is happening in the wealthiest country in the world.
- quesera 2y ago
  I support Puerto Rican statehood and representation in US federal elections†. Until then, I don't see any hope of meaningful federal support in times of Puerto Rican crisis. Too many Americans are not sure whether Hawaii is a state, or if Rhode Island is an island. The amount of time that PR occupies anyone's thoughts in Real America™ is basically nil. Just like Trinidad, or Turks and Caicos. "Oh, I know someone who took a cruise there. They don't speak English do they?" That's it. † I also support Puerto Rican self-determination and independence. :) But that path will not bring FEMA, or infrastructure investment.

sergiomattei 2y ago

Adding another comment because I can no longer edit my original. - Power instability causes serious economic damage to individuals, families and small businesses. Imagine establishing a business in an island where you don't know if you'll have power today. - In PR, you don't buy groceries for an entire month. The power goes out once and all your food is ruined. Families bear the brunt of these reliability failures. - Outages damage your appliances. This is even more economic damage to families and the poor. A couple years ago, in jest, protesters from across the island took their damaged appliances to the power company headquarters and dropped them off there. - Diabetics have to use generators or special machines to keep their insulin refrigerated. I could keep going. It's a shame that this absurdity is happening in the wealthiest country in the world.

quesera 2y ago
I support Puerto Rican statehood and representation in US federal elections†. Until then, I don't see any hope of meaningful federal support in times of Puerto Rican crisis. Too many Americans are not sure whether Hawaii is a state, or if Rhode Island is an island. The amount of time that PR occupies anyone's thoughts in Real America™ is basically nil. Just like Trinidad, or Turks and Caicos. "Oh, I know someone who took a cruise there. They don't speak English do they?" That's it. † I also support Puerto Rican self-determination and independence. :) But that path will not bring FEMA, or infrastructure investment.