{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/lawmakers-demand-answers-more-500000-remain-without-power-puerto-rico", "Lawmakers demand answers as more than 500,000 remain without power in Puerto Rico", "2022-09-27", "2022", "2022-09", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", "degette", "https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding answers today as more than 500,000 Americans in Puerto Rico remain without power more than one week after Hurricane Fiona made landfall there.\n\nU.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations panel, along with Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), sent a letter Tuesday to the head of LUMA Energy, the company responsible for operating Puerto Rico\u2019s power grid, to express their deep concern over the island\u2019s ongoing power outages and demanded to know what\u2019s being done to restore power there immediately.\n\nIn writing to LUMA Energy President and CEO Wayne Stensby, the lawmakers said they wanted to know, among other things, \u201cwhy the company had not adequately prepared the island\u2019s energy infrastructure to withstand a Category One hurricane.\u201d\n\nThey also pointed out that their concerns with the company\u2019s ability to develop and maintain the island\u2019s power grid started well before Hurricane Fiona hit and that the ongoing outages only \u201camplify concerns\u201d that LUMA has failed to adequately maintain the island\u2019s electrical infrastructure.\n\nDespite being \u201crichly compensated,\u201d the lawmakers noted, the company \u2013 which became Puerto Rico\u2019s sole supplier of electricity in June 2021 \u2013 has failed to provide Puerto Ricans with the reliable and affordable energy they deserve.\n\n\u201cSince LUMA assumed control of the grid in 2021, Puerto Ricans have reported recurring power surges that have interfered with critical medical care, disrupted access to education, and destroyed property,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cThe collapse of the electric grid in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona is just the latest example of such failures.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers demanded that company officials provide the committee answers to a series of questions regarding the steps LUMA has taken to improve and protect Puerto Rico\u2019s power grid since taking control, including:\n\nHow much funding LUMA has received through its contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority;\n\nWhat reliability benchmarks the company is obliged to achieve, and the progress LUMA has made toward each;\n\nWhat preparations LUMA made to protect Puerto Rico\u2019s power grid in advance of Hurricane Fiona;\n\nWhen LUMA anticipates that customers will have their power restored; and\n\nWhat, if anything, LUMA is doing to improve the grid\u2019s performance going forward.\n\nThe lawmakers requested the information be provided to the committee by Oct. 11, 2022, and that company representatives provide them a briefing on the progress being made to restore power to the island no later than Oct. 14.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/lawmakers-demand-answers-more-500000-remain-without-power-puerto-rico"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3068090192973614, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}