Puerto Rico Faces Blackouts Again, This Time Due to Bankruptcy

Power outages plagued Puerto Rico for months after Hurricane Maria. Now, the financial tempest of bankruptcy may bring them again.

Officials are preparing to implement rolling blackouts if the utility runs out of money to pay for fuel after a federal judge rejected the commonwealth’s request to lend $1 billion to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to keep it operating.

Government officials responded on Feb. 16 by shrinking the size of the request by more than a third, hoping to keep the lights on about six more weeks.

Out of Power and Funds

Puerto Rico officials warned that without ...