Puerto Ricans are still struggling with power grid shortages nine years after Hurricane Maria. The government of the U.S. island territory has exacerbated the crisis, leaving the grid with a 33% energy shortfall in 2025—meaning a third of the electricity the island needs is unavailable. As a result, the island’s 3.2 million residents are enduring unprecedented power outages while government leaders have failed to provide a lasting solution. On average, Puerto Rican taxpayers experience about 27 hours of power outages per year, compared to fewer than two hours annually for most residents in the continental United States.
Puerto Rico’s electric utility is also burdened by nearly $9 billion in legacy bond debt—an obligation it cannot afford to repay. In an effort to address long-standing management issues, the utility was privatized. LUMA Energy assumed responsibility for transmission and distribution in 2021, and Genera PR took over power generation in 2023.
Despite these changes, modernization of the grid has lagged. Construction costs in Puerto Rico remain extraordinarily high, partly due to an added excise tax on federally funded projects. Although the island is roughly the size of Connecticut, it is divided into 78 municipalities, creating additional layers of bureaucracy that drive up costs and slow progress. These financial and logistical challenges have made contractors hesitant to take on projects. As a result, policy decisions continue to create significant barriers to reliable access to electricity for the people of Puerto Rico.
How is God calling us—as believers—to respond when millions of our neighbors live with prolonged hardship due to systemic failure and political barriers, and what does loving our neighbor look like in the face of infrastructure injustice?
As we consider the struggles of our neighbors, the Bible offers us key scriptures that can help guide our thinking as Christ followers. Luke 10:33-37 states,
“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him. " Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.”
Mercy and practical care are always part of the Christian response to injustice. As light bringers in this dark world, we are to do whatever we can to alleviate the suffering of our fellow humans. Puerto Rico is our neighbor and is part of the United States, while many of us may see this island as a distant land, how this territory is managed reflects on how our country cares for its citizens.
We see in the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10 that compassion crosses political, cultural, and geographic boundaries. God calls us to move past what may feel most comfortable when dispensing empathy and care. As we seek to love our neighbor well, we have to grow in our awareness of the hurdles faced by different people groups across the world. Most of us have to work hard to push past indifference and take the time to name injustice truthfully, becoming an advocate for change in our struggling world.
Justice Is a Biblical Concern, Not Just a Political Trend
God’s heart is for justice, and thankfully, God is the ultimate justice bringer! Human efforts to correct our wrongs often fall short of what is really needed in any given scenario. We need God’s wisdom, guidance, and favor to address these complex issues. Isaiah 1:17 states,
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
As Christ followers, we do our best to seek justice with the help of the Lord. We take up the cause of those who are in need, opening our homes, our hearts, our prayers, and our lives to these causes. We see that the infrastructure injustice in Puerto Rico is a form of inequity, so we are called to follow the Bible and push for a remedy to this problem.
How We Can Respond in Compassion to Love Our Neighbors in Crisis
We can love our Puerto Rican neighbors by engaging in advocacy for the necessary changes to policy, so better systems can be built on the island. We can engage in a conversation on how to solve the many problems that the island has to overcome, such as its crushing debt, added taxes, and bureaucratic red tape that is getting in the way of needed updates and repairs. We can ask hard questions of leaders, prompting them to think more critically and creatively about how to solve these problems.
Additionally, we can begin to pray for additional government accountability on the island, better and more ethical business practices for those who work on and manage the power grid, and pray for the financial restoration of the territory. We can pray for the establishment of a safe and reliable infrastructure so people are able to live without fear that their needs will go unmet.
God calls us to give generously. We can offer financial support for local Puerto Rican churches, relief organizations, and community-based nonprofits that are finding creative ways to meet the needs of the people in their communities. Supporting the people and organizations that are active on the island is the best way to be of help.
Engage with missions to the island, work to build church-to-church relationships, and find more ways to listen to those who are living on the island so you can best respond to their situation.
Hope in the Midst of Systemic Brokenness
A reminder we can all cling to is the fact that systems fail, but God does not. God promises us that the best is yet to come! Revelation 21 promises a future restored. We can gain hope from the knowledge that the brokenness we are witnessing in the here and now is not eternal. The church is called to be a preview of God’s coming Kingdom, a light in the darkness, and we can offer hope, stability, and reminders of God’s goodness amid the current instability. Let us persevere in our efforts to pray and care for the many injustices that continue to plague our world.
A Prayer for Our Puerto Rican Neighbors
Father,
We thank you that you have given us the opportunity to partner with you in the mission to bring justice to our dark world. You see the needs of those in Puerto Rico and across the globe, and you care about the ways that policy creates inequity in our world. I ask that you bring creative solutions to this hard-to-solve problem. That you would bring comfort and peace to those who are living in a place with insufficient infrastructure. Offer more ways for churches to support each other through this crisis. Help us have eyes to see the ways we can participate in solutions for our neighbors.
Amen.
Photo Credti: ©Getty Images/ RICARDO ARDUENGO / Contributor
