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October 18, 2021

Puerto Ricans March to Protest Ongoing Power Outages After Privatization of Electric Grid
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In Puerto Rico, over 4,000 people took to the streets of San Juan Friday
to protest ongoing and worsening power outages and increases in energy
costs following the U.S.-imposed privatization of the electricity grid.

Protesters: "¡LUMA afuera! ¡LUMA afuera! ¡LUMA afuera! ¡LUMA afuera!"

Demonstrators chanted "Get out, LUMA!" as they shut down traffic on a
main highway. LUMA, a U.S. and Canadian company, took over Puerto Rico's
transmission and distribution of power in June. Residents of the island
say the power cuts have damaged appliances and can be life-threatening
to those who rely on certain medical machines. Earlier this month,
California Congressmember Katie Porter grilled LUMA CEO Wayne Stensby
during a virtual hearing.

Rep. Katie Porter: "How many blackouts have been reported since LUMA
took over on June 1?"

Wayne Stensby: "The system has a very large number of outages,
Congresswoman, both before and after."

Rep. Katie Porter: "Can you count them? Is it so big you can't even keep
track of them all?"

Wayne Stensby: "There are outages every single day."

Congressmembers Porter and Raúl Grijalva have requested LUMA turn over
multiple documents by the end of this week.


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