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Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Business Information, Profile, and History
Avenue Ponce De Leon 171/2
Puerto Rico
Company Perspectives:
Our Mission: To provide electric energy services to clients in the most efficient, cost-effective and reliable manner, without affecting the environment.
History of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa) is a government-owned utility responsible for the distribution of electricity to 1.3 million residential and business customers of Puerto Rico. Although it generates most of its own power, Prepa has in recent years turned to independent power producers to provide additional sources of electricity in order to keep pace with the island's increasing demand. Prepa is directed by a nine-member government board, seven of which are appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, subject to Senate approval. The remaining two board members represent the clients and are chosen through an election supervised by the Consumer Affairs Department. The government board is responsible for appointing an executive director to oversee the operations of the utility, which for administrative purposes divides Puerto Rico into seven regions, serviced by more than 10,000 employees.
Private Companies Supplying Electricity in Early 20th-Century Puerto Rico
Electricity was initially generated in Puerto Rico for private lighting systems, the first of which was installed as early as 1893. Over the next two decades other private companies cropped up in the island's larger urban areas. The first public power plant, a hydroelectric facility, was established in 1915, the same year that the Electric Light Anonymous Society established Puerto Rico's first public street lighting system, located in the capital city of San Juan. To prepare for visiting royalty, eight lamp posts with some 600 incandescent lamps were installed. Other small street lighting systems soon followed. It was not until 1908 that the government of Puerto Rico became involved in the production of power through a small agency, the South Coast Irrigation Service, which required electricity for a regional irrigation system. The agency built a hydroelectric plant, making use of the waters in the Carite Lake that also flowed into the system's irrigation channels. A second Carite hydroelectric plant was opened in 1922.
As Puerto Rico created other artificial lakes and generating plants, a new government agency under the auspices of the Department of the Interior was created in 1926 to manage the emerging electric power system: Water Resources Use. Three years later the agency placed into service its first hydroelectric plant, followed in 1937 by a second facility. It was also in 1937 that the government purchased the privately owned Ponce Electric Company, setting the stage for the acquisition of all of the island's private power companies, which were incorporated into the public system. A network of power lines began to crisscross Puerto Rico as a distribution system evolved. Taking advantage of funding made available from the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, part of the United States' New Deal legislation of 1935 to reduce unemployment and stimulate economic growth, Water Resources opened two new hydroelectric plants in 1941. The agency was superceded in May 1941 by the creation of Puerto Rico's first public corporation and Prepa's original incarnation, The Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority (PRWRA). The Authority was incorporated in order to gain the ability to float bonds and raise the financing necessary to meet the island's rising need for power and an expanded distribution infrastructure. The concept of an "Authority" had been made popular in recent years with the rise of The Port Authority of New York, which had been able to successfully fund the building of the George Washington Bridge and other major projects. PRWRA's reliance on hydroelectric power plants accounted for the "Water Resources" in its name.
PRWRA continued the process of consolidating power plants, in 1945 purchasing the island's two main electric systems, Puerto Rico Railway Light and Power Company and the Mayagüez Light Power and Ice Company. To this point in the history of Puerto Rico, electricity was essentially confined to urban areas, with just 12 percent of the rural population having access. PRWRA began a major push to rectify this situation in 1946, financed by its own means as well as government money. Further funding would come from the Rural Electrification Administration of the United States starting in 1952.
In the second half of the century, hydroelectricity was replaced by petroleum burning turbines in Puerto Rico. PRWRA experimented briefly with nuclear power in the early 1960s but settled on oil. A new oil-burning power plant in the early 1970s would be the last of any kind to be built on the island for a generation. As a result, PRWRA found itself highly dependent on petroleum and its derivatives, which generated 98 percent of all electricity on the island. Because just 2 percent of the utility's power was produced by water, the government in 1979 changed the name of PRWRA to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Two years later, Prepa acquired the electric system owned by the municipality of Cayey, an act which finally consolidated all of the island's electric system under the control of a single utility.
Prepa's position as a monopoly was strengthened by the 1978 passage of the federal Power Utilities Regulatory Act that only permitted independent energy producers to sell to an area's monopoly utility. Over the next dozen years, Prepa did not increase its production capacity, despite a mounting demand for power on the island, and by the 1990s had a poor reputation. Not only did its customers have to pay high rates, they had to endure frequent blackouts, which lasted on average nearly ten hours. Customers on the mainland, by contrast, experienced about four hours of outages in an entire year. Prepa customers were further frustrated when they attempted to telephone the utility, usually forced to wait 90 minutes before talking to a representative. Much of Prepa's problems could be attributed to geography. Operating on an island, unlike the mainland, it was unable to tap into a neighboring supply of energy during an emergency. It desperately needed a reserve capacity, but because Prepa had not built a new power plant in 20 years it was not able to keep up with the current need for electricity, let alone provide a buffer for peak periods of usage or to account for plants going offline due to maintenance or breakdowns. Furthermore, the system was aging and much of its transmission lines were above ground and exposed. It was also evident that Prepa would be simply unable to meet the island's energy needs by the end of the century. It considered investing in a battery energy storage system to provide reserve power, but there was little doubt that what was needed was new power plants. Because a new facility required several years lead time before it could be operational, Prepa had to take immediate steps in order to avert an eventual shortfall. If businesses could not count on a consistent supply of electricity, they would not choose to conduct business in Puerto Rico, which would have a devastating effect on the island's economy. Moreover, Prepa desperately needed to upgrade its oil-burning power plants and find cleaner fuels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) levied a heavy fine against the utility in 1993. As late as 2001, Prepa plants occupied the top four spots on EPA's list of polluters, based on the release of toxic chemicals into the local environment.
Prepa's Government Board was well aware that changes needed to be made at Prepa, but an additional incentive was provided by the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 1992, which permitted independent companies to build power plants and sell energy directly to residential and business customers. The best way to fend off potential competition was to improve Prepa, and the first priority was to find newer and cleaner sources of energy. Because Prepa needed at least 1,000 additional megawatts by the year 2000, and it could only supply 40 percent of that total by upgrading facilities and building new plants, the utility had to find private suppliers. A cogeneration committee was formed with representation from eight government agencies to help Prepa select among a number of proposals. The concept of cogeneration called for excess heat resulting from the production of electricity to be used to produce steam, which could also be distributed and sold. In the end, two private power producers were selected: EcoElectrica, a natural gas fired system, and Applied Energy Systems (AES), a coal-power plant.
Shortly after the passage of the Energy Policy Act, Prepa named a new executive director, Miguel A. Cordero, who was well familiar with the utility's operations. In the early 1970s, he started out with Prepa as a line supervisor, overseeing maintenance crews. In his new capacity, Cordero was quick to fast-track plans for building new plants, as well as introduced new computer technology to help existing plants become more fuel efficient. The maintenance program was also improved, with more regular checkups also improving efficiency. Moreover, Cordero cut staff while increasing productivity and took efforts to enhance customer relations as well as environmental compliance.
Hurricane Georges and Its Aftermath: 1998
Until new sources of electricity came online, however, Cordero could not address the primary need of Prepa. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Georges in 1998 revealed other shortcomings that required attention. With winds that reached 130 miles per hour, the hurricane was the worst to strike Puerto Rico in 70 years. Because so much of Prepa's transmission lines were above ground, most of the island was plunged into darkness. Five days after the winds subsided, less than a third of Prepa's system was operational, and it was estimated that 85 percent of the population was without power. Even two weeks after Georges struck, almost a third of the electric system remained out of commission. It was not until 73 days had passed that Prepa finally returned to fully operational status. Making the best of a catastrophe, Cordero used the opportunity to upgrade more than 10,000 downed poles and several telecommunications towers, ensuring that in the future they would be able to withstand 120 mile-per-hour winds. The utility also developed an improved, detailed emergency plan for restoring power to the island in future disasters.
As Prepa waited for its private energy providers to come online, it looked to take advantage of its system in order to
The EcoElectrica natural gas-burning plant started operations in the summer of 2000, providing more than 500 megawatts of power, or 17 percent of Puerto Rico's demand. The AES coal-powered plant was delayed in becoming operational, its opening pushed back to the summer of 2002. Once online it was expected to contribute 15 percent of Prepa's capacity. As a result of these private suppliers, the system would go from being 98 percent dependent on crude oil to just 67 percent, a significant step towards fuel diversification as well as creating a much cleaner system. Prepa's plans were hindered, however, by problems with the utility's $200 million natural gas plant initiative, the Repowering San Juan Project, which was supposed to take advantage of the EcoElectrica natural gas storage facility and provide an additional 320 megawatts of power. After construction began, the developer abandoned the project, which led to litigation, and work came to a halt.
In 2001, Prepa, under the leadership of a new executive director, Hector Rosario, appeared well situated to meet the island's energy demands until 2007. Looking beyond that date, as well as continuing the effort to lower Prepa's reliance on oil and improve system efficiency, Rosario prepared to ask for bids on a third cogeneration plant to be built in the western part of Puerto Rico, which was not yet served by a local power plant. Escalating oil and natural gas prices, however, forced him to postpone the completion of an expansion plan that called for $34 million for the upgrading of Prepa headquarters, the remodeling of other buildings, and the construction of a plaza. With Prepa barely staying ahead of Puerto Rico's energy demands and still too dependent on the price swings of crude oil, Rosario was committed to first devoting the utility's money to improving its transmission and distribution system. A reliable and ample supply of electricity was not only important for Prepa's financial well-being, the future economy of Puerto Rico also depended upon it.
Related information about Puerto Rico
(USA Formal Dependencies)
Official name Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Local
name Puerto Rico Timezone GMT -4 Area
8897 km²/3434 sq mi population total (2002e)
3 879 600 Status Commonwealth Capital San
Juan Languages Spanish (official), with English widely
spoken Religion Roman Catholic Physical features
Easternmost island of the Greater Antilles; almost rectangular in
shape; crossed W–E by mountains, rising to 1338 m/4389 ft
at Cerro de Punta; coastal plain belt in N; islands of Vieques and
Culebra also belong to Puerto Rico. Climate Tropical
maritime climate; average annnual temperature 25°C; high humidity.
Currency 1 US Dollar (USD) = 100 cents GDP(2002e)
$43·01 bn, per capita $11 100 Economy
Manufacturing the most important sector of the economy; food
processing, petrochemicals, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals;
textiles, clothing; livestock, tobacco, sugar, pineapples,
coconuts; tourism. History Originally occupied by Carib and
Arawak Indians; visited by Columbus, 1493; remained a Spanish
colony until ceded to the US, 1898; high levels of emigration to
the US from 1940s–50s; became a semi-autonomous Commonwealth in
association with US, 1952; executive power exercised by a Governor;
a bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado
Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, IPA ),
also Porto Rico (archaic) and more commonly Puerto
Rico, is a United
States territory with Commonwealth www.prfaa.com/eng/PuertoRicoBookletFinal.pdf
statusCIA - The World Factbook -
Puerto Rico. located east of the Dominican Republic in
the northeastern Caribbean. Puerto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles,
includes the main island of Puerto Rico and
a number of smaller islands and keys, the largest of which are Mona, Vieques, and
Culebra.
The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United
States is the subject of ongoing debate in the island and also in
the United
Nations.United Nations special
decolonization committee- Puerto Rico. Those who support
maintaining the status quo (i.e., Commonwealth
status) insist that upon attaining this status, Puerto Rico entered
into a voluntary association with the U.S. "in the nature of a
compact", but
opponents of Commonwealth disagree: according to some, Puerto Rico
is an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, subject
to the plenary
powers of the United States Congress; The first comprehensive book on
the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Iñigo
Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, 293 years after the first Spaniards arrived on the
island.Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra. Historia Geográfica, Civil y Natural
de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico.
The first indigenous settlers of Puerto Rico were the Ortoiroid, an Archaic age
culture. An archeological dig in the island of Vieques in 1990
found the remains of what is believed to be an Arcaico
(Archaic) man (named Puerto Ferro man) which was dated to around
2000 BC (4000 years ago).Vieques Island - What
lies beneath. Between 120 and 400 AD, the Igneri, a tribe from the Orinoco region, arrived on the
island.Brief Chronology of
Puerto Rico. Between the 7th and 11th century the Taíno culture developed on
the island and by approximately 1000 AD, the Taíno culture had
become dominant, a trend that lasted until the arrival of the
Spanish in 1493.
Spanish arrival
When Christopher Columbus arrived at Puerto Rico during his
second voyage on November 19, 1493, the island was inhabited by a group of Arawak Indians known as Taínos. The Taínos called the
island "Borikén", which was later pronunced by the Spaniards as
"Borinquen". Presently, Puerto Ricans are also known as Boricuas,
or people from Borinquen.
(170 km by 60 km). The
capital, San Juan, is
located on the main island's north coast.
Located in the tropics,
Puerto Rico enjoys an average temperature of 28 °C (82.4 °F)
throughout the year. The hurricane season spans between June and
November.
Puerto Rico has 17 lakes
(none of them natural) Los Lagos de Puerto
Rico es icon and
more than 50 rivers. The south is thus drier and hotter than the
north region.
As of 1998, 239 plants, 16
birds and 39 amphibians/reptiles have been discovered
that are endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. The Caribbean National
Forest, also known as El Yunque, a
tropical rainforest is home to the majority (13 of
16) of species of coquí. It is also home to more than 240 plants,
26 of which are endemic and 50 bird species, including one of the
top 10 endangered birds in the world, the Puerto Rican
Parrot.
Geology
Puerto Rico is composed of Cretaceous to Eocene volcanic and plutonic rocks, which are overlain by younger Oligocene to recent carbonates and other sedimentary rocks. Most
of the caverns and
karst topography on the
island occurs in the northern Oligocene to recent carbonates. The
oldest rocks are approximately 190 million years old (Jurassic) and are located at
Sierra Bermeja in
the southwest part of the island. These rocks may represent part of
the oceanic crust
and are believed to come from the Pacific Ocean realm.
Puerto Rico lies at the boundary between the Caribbean and North
American plates and is
currently being deformed by the tectonic stresses caused by the interaction of these
plates. These stresses may cause earthquakes and tsunamis. These seismic events, along with landslides, represent some of the most dangerous
geologic
hazards in the island and in the northeastern Caribbean. The
most recent major earthquake occurred on October 11, 1918 and had an estimated magnitude
of 7.5 on the Richter scale.
The Puerto Rico
Trench, the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic, is
located about 120 km (75
miles) north of Puerto Rico
in the Atlantic
Ocean at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American
plates is.
Demographics
Puerto Rico has sometimes been said to have a European (Spanish) descent
majority, an extinct Amerindian population, persons of mixed ancestry,
Africans, and a small Asian minority. These results cast doubt on
the hypothesis that the Tainos disappeared from Puerto Rico by the
end of the sixteenth century.-->
During the 1800s, hundreds of Corsican, French, Lebanese, Chinese, and Portuguese families, along with large numbers of
immigrants from Spain (mainly from Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia and
the Balearic Islands), the Canary Islands and numerous Spanish loyalists from
Spain's former colonies in South America, arrived in Puerto Rico.
Other settlers have included Irish,
Scots, Germans, and thousands others who were granted land from
Spain during the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 (Royal Decree
of Graces of 1815), which allowed European Catholics to settle
in the island with a certain amount of free land. A census
conducted by royal decree on September 30,1858, gives the following totals of the Puerto Rican
population at this time, Whites 300,430 , Free colored 341,015, Slaves 41,736, Unclassified 127. Argentines, Cubans, Dominicans, Colombians and Venezuelans can also be accounted for as settlers.
Emigration has been a
major part of Puerto Rico's recent history as well. Starting in the
Post-WWII period,
due to poverty, cheap airfare, and promotion by the island
government, waves of Puerto Ricans moved to the United States,
particularly to New
York City, Chicago,
Boston,
Orlando,
Tampa, and
Hartford. Emigration continues at the present time, and
this, combined with Puerto Rico's greatly lowered birth rate,
suggests that the island's population will age rapidly and start to
decline sometime within the next couple of decades.
In the 2000 U.S.
Census Puerto Ricans were asked to indicate which racial
category they consider themselves. Students can attend either a
public or a
private school.
The two public universities in Puerto Rico are the multi-campus
University
of Puerto Rico and the Colegio
Universitario de San Juan operated by the city of San Juan. The
largest private university systems on the island are the Ana G.
Mendez University System (which operates the Turabo University, the
Metropolitan
University, and the Eastern University), the multi-campus Interamerican University, the Pontifical Catholic University, and the University of
the Sacred Heart.
Languages
The official languages of the island are Spanish and English. The award is
given annually to individuals and organizations worldwide for their
defense and contribution to the growth of the Spanish language by
Principe Felipe of Spain.Fundación Príncipe de
Asturias Upon his election as governor in 1993, Governor
Pedro
Rosselló overturned the law and re-established English as an
official language.
Religion
The Roman
Catholic religion has been historically dominant and is the
religion of the majority of Puerto Ricans, although the presence of
Jehovah's
Witnesses, various Protestant denominations and Mormons has increased under American sovereignty,
making modern Puerto Rico an interconfessional country. For
example, the first non-Catholic church, Holy Trinity Anglican
church in Ponce, now a parish of the Diocese of Puerto Rico of the
Episcopal Church of the United States, was not allowed
to ring its church bell until American troops marched through Ponce
after landing at Guánica harbor on July 25, 1898.
There is a relatively small but diverse Jewish community in and around San Juan with a
Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox house of prayer. Although
Santeria (stronger and
more organized in Cuba) is practiced by some, Palo Mayombe (sometimes
called an African belief system, but rather a way of Bantu
lifestyle of Congo origin) finds more adherence among individuals
who practice some form of African Traditional Religion.
Politics
The government of Puerto Rico is based on the Republican system composed of 3 branches: the Executive branch headed
by the Governor, the Legislative branch consisting of a bicameral Legislative Assembly (a Senate and a
House of Representatives) and the Judicial branch. The
legal system is based on a mix of the civil law
and the common law
systems. Puerto Rico is divided into 78 municipalities, each of
which elect a mayor and a municipal legislature.
In 1950, the U.S. Congress afforded Puerto Ricans the right to
organize a constitutional convention, contingent on the results of
a referendum, where the electorate would determine if they wished
to organize their own government pursuant to a constitution of
their own choosing. On February 4 1952,
the convention approved Resolution 22 which chose in English the
word ?Commonwealth?, meaning a ?politically organized
community? Unable to translate the word into Spanish, the
convention adopted a translation inspired by the Irish Free State
called ?Estado Libre Asociado? (ELA) to represent the compact
between the people of Puerto Rico and the United States, which is
literally translated into English as ?Associated Free State?.
Under the 1952 constitution, Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth (use
some benefits of the U.S.) and is permitted a degree of autonomy similar to
that of a state of the Union, such an arrangement is known as
federacy. A non-voting
Resident Commissioner is elected by the residents of
Puerto Rico to the U.S. Congress acting as a delegate of the people
of Puerto Rico.
While residents of the island do not pay federal
income tax, Puerto Ricans do pay U.S. federal payroll taxes. Because
Puerto Ricans do not pay federal income tax, Puerto Rico receives
less than 15% of the Medicaid funding it would be alloted as a state. The
Popular Democratic Party (PPD) seeks to maintain or
improve the current status, the New
Progressive Party (PNP) seeks to fully incorporate Puerto Rico
as a U.S. state, and the Puerto Rican
Independence Party (PIP) seeks national independence.
In 1967, the Legislative Assembly tested political interests of the
Puerto Rican people by passing a plebiscite Act that allowed a vote on the status
of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico's political status and international law
Although Puerto Rico is, politically speaking, an unincorporated
territory of the United States classified as a Commonwealth, some Puerto
Ricans refer to Puerto Rico as a país, the Spanish word for
country. This is a common term used to describe dependent
territories by the United Nations although on many occasions it has been
thought of as a possibility that Puerto Rico would become the
51st state of the
United
States of America. The United Nations has in the past evaluated
Puerto Rico's political status to ensure that the island's
government complies with the standards of self-government that
constitute the basic tenets of the United Nations
Charter, its covenants, and its principles of international
law.
On November 27,
1953, shortly after
establishment of the Commonwealth, the General Assembly of the UN
approved Resolution 748, removing Puerto Rico?s classification as
a non-self-governing territory under article 73(e)
of the Charter of the United Nations. In fact, in a 1996 report on
a Puerto Rico status political bill, the U.S. House Committee
on Resources stated that Puerto Rico?s current status ?does not
meet the criteria for any of the options for full self government.?
The House Committee concluded that Puerto Rico is still an
unincorporated territory of the United States under the territorial
clause, that the establishment of local self-government with the
consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by U.S. Congress,
and that U.S. Congress can also withdraw at any time the American
citizenship now enjoyed by the residents of Puerto Rico as long as
it achieves a legitimate Federal purpose, in a manner reasonably
related to that purpose.
According to a report by the President?s Task Force on Puerto Rico?s Status, released
in December 2005, it is not possible ?to bind future Congresses to
any particular arrangement for Puerto Rico as a Commonwealth?. On
January 4 2006, Governor Anibal Acevedo
Vilá announced the steps that he and the governing Popular Democratic
Party will take in the following months. The historic
resolution denounces the task force as a political fraud that
represents a threat to democracy and is in violation of the basic
agreements held between the people of Puerto Rico and the United
States since 1952.PPD Party Resolution #2006-02 es icon It also stated a
compromise to challenge the task force report and validate the
current status in all international forums including the United
Nations. The House Committee on Resources called a hearing on the
subject on April 27, 2006, signalling a greater degree of interest
than previously anticipated.
Administrative divisions
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico
does not have any first-order administrative divisions as defined
by the U.S. Government, but there are 78 municipalities at the
second level (Mona
Island is not a municipality, but part of the municipality of
Mayagüez). In the 16th century two more municipalities
were established, Coamo
(1570) and San
Germán (1570). These were Arecibo (1614), Aguada (1692) and Ponce (1692). The last municipality was Florida, founded
in 1971.LinktoPR.com - Fundación de
los Pueblos.
Economy
In the early 1900's the greatest contributor to Puerto Rico's
economy was agriculture, its main crop being sugar. Thus manufacturing replaced agriculture as
the main industry.
The economic conditions in Puerto Rico have improved dramatically
since the Great
Depression due to external investment in capital-intensive
industry such as
petrochemicals,
pharmaceuticals,
and technology.
Puerto Rico is subject to U.S. trade laws and restrictions.
Tourism is an important
component of the Puerto Rican economy supplying an approximate $1.8
billion. A steady increase in hotel registrations, which has been
observed since 1998, and the construction of new hotels and new
tourism projects, such as the Puerto Rico
Convention Center, are indicators of the current strength of
the tourism industry.
Puerto Ricans had a per capita Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) estimate of $17,700 for 2004,CIA - The World Factbook -
Puerto Rico. which demonstrates a growth over the $14,412 level
measured in the 2002 Current Population Survey by the Puerto Rican
Legal Defense and Education Fund.PRLDEF. In that
survey, Puerto Ricans have a 48.2% poverty rate. one third the U.S.
national average and roughly half that of the poorest state.
On May 1, 2006, the Puerto Rican government
faced significant shortages in cash flows, which forced the closure
of the local Department of Education and 42 other government
agencies. All 1,536 public schools closed, and 95,762 people were
furloughed in the first-ever partial shutdown of the government in
the island's history.es
icon On May 10, 2006,
the budget crisis was resolved with a new tax reform
agreement by the presidents of both legislative bodies and the
Governor, with plans to apply a temporary 1% tax input so that all
government employees could return to work. The unofficial national
animal is the Coquí (Eleutherodactylus coqui).
Puerto Rico has its own representatives in international beauty
pageants including Miss
World and Miss
Universe. The island's contestant was second-runner up in the
2005 Miss World
pageant, and currently has the title of Miss World
Caribbean.
Sports
Puerto Rico has an Olympic team in the Summer Olympic and the
Winter Olympics,
as well as international representation in many other sporting
events including the Pan-American Games, the Central
American and Caribbean Games, and the Caribbean World
Series. Puerto Rican professional tennis player Beatriz "Gigi"
Fernandez won a gold medal in tennis doubles competitions,
representing the United States Olympic Team.
Although boxing, basketball, volleyball and baseball are popular,
traditionally baseball had been the most popular sport, until
recently being overcome by basketball. San Juan hosted the Montreal Expos for
several series in 2003 and 2004 before they moved to World Cup of Baseball winning 1 gold (1951), 4 silver
and 4 bronze medals.
August 8, 2004, became
a landmark date for Puerto Rico's national olympic team when the
basketball team of Puerto Rico defeated the U.S. basketball team in
Athens, Greece,
the defending gold medalist and basketball powerhouse in Olympic
play.BBC Sports - Olympics
2004. On September
29, 2005, Major League
Baseball (MLB) announced that San Juan's Hiram Bithorn
Stadium would be one of the sites of the opening round as well
as the second round of the newly formed World Baseball
Classic, a 16-country tournament featuring top players, which
was held in San Juan in March 2006.
Transportation
Puerto Rico is connected by a system of freeways, expressways, and highways, all maintained by the Roads and Transportation Authority and patrolled by the
Police of
Puerto Rico. The island's metropolitan area is served by a public bus
transit system and a metro system called Tren Urbano. The island's main airport,
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is located
in Carolina, and the main port is the San Juan Port (or Los Muelles de Barcos in
Spanish).
Chronology
- Key Dates:
-
1893: Puerto Rico's first electric lighting system begins operation.
-
1908: The island's first government-funded power plant is built.
-
1941: Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority (PRWRA) is established.
-
1979: PRWRA changes name to Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
-
1992: Energy Policy Act permits private companies to sell electricity.
-
2000: EcoElectrica natural gas burning plant comes online.
Additional topics
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