The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) believes that more natural gas-powered capacity will be in the best interest of recovering Puerto Rico’s power grid, Bruce Walker, Assistant Secretary at the Office of Electricity at DoE, said in written testimony before the Committee on Natural Resources at the U.S. House of Representatives. Puerto Rico’s power system remains vulnerable because of underinvestment, poor maintenance, and damage from Hurricane Maria, Walker said, noting that a DoE analysis of the ways to successful recovery found that increasing natural gas generation capacity would benefit the island. “The principal finding of DOE’s analysis is the cost and reliability benefits of increasing natural gas generation capacity in the San Juan metropolitan area, to include the current Palo Seco generating site. DOE’s analysis found 1,200 to 1,600 megawatts (MW) of capacity would greatly enhance the reliability and disaster resilience of Puerto Rico’s power system, while lowering power […]