The original version of this email already had a Bad Bunny video in the "Listening" section, inspired by his Grammy win and a rare opportunity to be on trend with my music selection.

And then Benito went and included the Puerto Rico electrical grid at the Super Bowl halftime in his short California stadium show.

The 13 minute melody was thick with references to Puerto Rico's history as a American colony and Puerto Rican culture within and outside the island (If you'd like a complete cheat sheet, I recommend this blow by blow). But his song "El Apagón" (The Blackout) is specifically about the impact of the island's heavily damaged, unreliable, sometimes dangerous and expensive power grid.

Much of the distribution infrastructure of Puerto Rico was destroyed or damaged during two hurricanes in 2017 with deadly consequences. The recovery and ongoing reliability of the power grid is still very much in question. The island's electrical power is also in the hands of a private company who's interests are tied up in liquid natural gas.

All islands have issues with electricity distribution that don't exist in places where you can connect with your (land) neighbors, and one of the solutions is microgrids and distributed networks with renewables. There's been significant projects developing these ideas on Puerto Rico since 2017. And yet...

Yet rather than invest in Puerto Rico’s recovery, the Trump administration is clawing back key federal funding meant to modernize and decarbonize the territory’s electricity system.

In January, the Department of Energy canceled $450 million for grid resilience programs in Puerto Rico, Latitude Media recently reported. The clawback effectively marks the end of the $1 billion Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund that the Biden administration launched in 2023 to help keep people’s lights on and their schools open, hospitals running, and supermarkets stocked.

President Donald Trump’s DOE had previously redirected $365 million of that funding meant for rooftop solar and battery storage projects toward ​“practical fixes and emergency activities.” To the administration, that means doubling down on the old model: far-flung power plants fueled by coal, oil, and gas, which send electricity along transmission lines that crisscross the island — and which were mercilessly mowed down during last decade’s hurricanes.

So the sparks shooting from fake electrical wires atop one of the biggest stage in the world are actually very real, and very unresolved for Puerto Ricans.

Elsewhere

I'm heads down on giant nonpublic project and some newsletter consulting, so this section likely won't be getting some love for a while, but in the spirit of resharing, I've been thinking a lot about my interview with author Deb Chachra about the uniquely local-ness of energy infrastructure.

Reading

Every year, Businessweek shares something called the jealousy list: a staff-selected buffet of recommendations of stories they wish they had written.

It’s a great way to get a wide selection of truly excellent recommendations. These are not “eat-your-vegetables” recommendations or shout-outs to talented, if unappreciated friends. It’s what really got writers and reporters excited within the past year.

I immediately thought of my own jealousy list when I read this recent story from Dan Charles in The 51st, our growing local news outlet here in DC.

It’s about a “fork in the road” for the future of gas and electric infrastructure within the city: whether or not the DC PSC approves the gas utilities’ broad pipeline replacement plan versus attending to leaks as they occur.

That same year, when a Canadian energy company, AltaGas, launched a successful bid to buy Washington Gas, the city forced AltaGas “to officially acknowledge that we had a goal of net zero carbon [emissions] for the city,” says Tommy Wells, who led D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) at the time and negotiated the agreement with AltaGas. The company promised to come up with a business plan reflecting D.C.’s climate goals. According to Wells, however, “Washington Gas has done everything possible to not come up with a future business model, other than selling gas and building new gas pipelines.”

The city and its gas supplier have been at odds ever since, and PROJECTpipes is the main flash point. When Washington Gas proposed expanding it, Yim and his colleagues at DOEE asked the company to consider alternatives. Perhaps the utility could take leak-prone pipes out of service instead of rebuilding them. Perhaps those homes could switch to electric appliances instead.

“They just sort of gave us the middle finger,” Yim says.

I really recommend reading the whole thing, even if you’re not a DC resident, as many of the same issues are playing out in dense cities with aging infrastructure and climate goals.

Previously: My own climate home makeover plan and Why do solar installers keep stopping by my house

More reading:

• The US added almost 50% more ultra-fast EV charging spots last year. (Bloomberg) I’d be very curious about the geographies of this, and if these spots are getting more use than other, slower charging stations.

• Maine considers a “climate superfund” bill to charge oil majors and others for damage in the state, despite active federal lawsuits against similar state laws in Vermont and New York. (Maine Public)

• DIY solar, promoted in Utah, may be coming to more than a dozen more US states

• Amsterdam defies last-minute lobbying to become first capital city to ban fossil fuel ads

• It's a renewable energy project actually being greenlighted by the federal government... on a contested site that's sacred to the Yakama Nation. (Washington State Standard)

• Colorado Co-Ops to Trump admin: Let us close our coal plants

• Storm recovery? That's a job for a community tool library.

Listening

As promised.

Thinking

Plus: Some of the best tech reporters out here bought a Super Bowl ad for a single Iowa town.

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