For immediate release: April 15, 2026
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Contact Puerto Rico: Tere@playmediagroup.net, Ilia@playmediagroup.net
Contact New York/DC: Media@hispanicfederation.org
“We Refuse to Lose One More Life”: Disability-Led and Disability-Supporting Organizations Raise Alarm Over Cancellation of Puerto Rico Solar Access Programs
Nearly 200 organizations from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González–Colón, requesting the restoration of the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund awards and defense of the 12,000 families left in limbo.
San Juan, PR – With hurricane season less than two months away and a persistent power outage crisis still impacting the archipelago, 193 disability-led and disability-supporting organizations from across Puerto Rico and the United States, are calling on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to immediately restore $350 million in recently cancelled funds awarded under the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF).
Created in 2022 by Congress, the PR-ERF was designed to install tens of thousands of residential rooftop solar and battery systems for people with disabilities and medical conditions dependent on electricity, as well as low-income families in Puerto Rico. The program aimed to protect their lives, health, and independence. More than 12,000 families were already approved and awaiting a life-saving solar system when the program was cancelled. The organizations also urged the government of Puerto Rico to advocate for the funds restoration and defend the lives of the thousands of PR-ERF beneficiary families at risk.
According to the letter, people with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by power loss from constant recurring disasters. After Hurricanes Fiona and Maria, people with disabilities were injured and likely died because they lacked power to keep medication cool or operate ventilators and other life-sustaining equipment. While the DOE and Puerto Rico government announced they are collaborating to redirect the funds to the energy grid, the organizations expressed that redirecting the PR-ERF funding to the centralized grid does not meet the energy resilience needs of the disability community, pointing out that the grid’s full recovery is still years away. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico faces the highest power outage rate in the U.S.
The letter stated, “Even under the best of circumstances, no electric grid can prevent all future outages, especially in a hurricane zone. For people who are electro-dependent, many of whom are also elderly, a single outage can be life-threatening. Medications are lost, respirators shut off, dialysis is missed, and communication devices fail. Providing rooftop solar energy and battery storage systems, with a strong understanding of how to use them, is a proven solution to reduce that threat.”
For Germán Parodi, Co-Director of The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, a national disability-led organization that helped raise awareness of the fund’s cancellation among its U.S. network, ensuring the disability community in Puerto Rico is supported is a priority. In 2022, they led a similar effort to ask Congress to create the Energy Resilience Fund for the U.S. territory. He stated:
“The original assessment showed a need for more than 150,000 households in Puerto Rico to have access to reliable backup power. The funding that was allocated was a fraction of that, only enough for about 30,000 units. Now, only 6,000 have been installed, and 12,000 families with disabled people who were already approved are being left behind without access to the critical energy options needed for their life-sustaining equipment. This is a commitment that must be honored. Puerto Rico’s disabled communities cannot be left without the power needed to survive.”
In Puerto Rico, the State Council for Independent Living (CEVI for its name in Spanish, Consejo Estatal de Vida Independiente) has been working to ensure the independence and well-being of Puerto Rico’s disability community since 1973. Gabriela Joglar Burrowes, Executive Director of CEVI expressed:
“For people with disabilities that rely on a ventilator, a dialysis machine or medicine that needs to be refrigerated, the constant power outages we face in Puerto Rico are life threatening. Not having power should not mean that you might die. People with disabilities and their families are in a constant state of worry, and the PR- ERF was a chance for them to have solar power and batteries that provide some much-needed stability. With the unexpected cancelation of the program, now 12,000 families will not have access to solar systems that could give them more quality of life and independence. These families have been waiting for these systems, and they should not be forgotten.”
Angel Ortiz is Executive Director of Movement for the Achievement of Independent Living (MAVI for its name in Spanish, Movimiento para el Alcance de Vida Independiente). They are a disability-serving organization founded in 1988 in Puerto Rico that was directly engaged in the PR-ERF serving as a DOE Solar Ambassador to enroll eligible families in the program and later as a Solar Educator to orient beneficiary families on their new equipment. He further added:
“The impact of prolonged power outages on people with disabilities has deeply human consequences. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, approximately 4,645 deaths were estimated, many associated with the lack of essential services such as electricity needed to operate medical equipment. The families we serve describe how, during disasters and emergencies, the lack of electricity limits even the ability to evacuate a person with a disability safely, particularly when their physical conditions have changed over time. Similarly, they report situations in which the lack of power puts essential medical treatments at risk, such as the need for insulin refrigeration or the ongoing management of health conditions. Additionally, other affected individuals indicate that this reality puts their lives at risk and represents a constant threat to their health and safety. For those who depend on electricity to survive, energy is not a luxury—it is an essential medical necessity. Lack of access to a reliable power source significantly increases the risk of severe and irreversible consequences for people with disabilities.”
Hispanic Federation, a national advocacy and capacity-building organization with operations in Puerto Rico and across the US, was one of the organizations awarded under the PR-ERF to provide energy education to families in Puerto Rico receiving a solar and battery system. They have been raising awareness of the potentially fatal consequences of the DOE’s decision. Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation said:
“We are asking the DOE and the PR government to put politics aside and put people first. The families they are hurting are mostly rural, elderly, face constant power outages, and live with disabilities and medical conditions that require electricity to manage. There is still time for the DOE to do the right thing and honor their commitment to these families, so they no longer worry that they or a loved one may suffer or lose their life during the next outage. We know these solar energy and battery systems can help provide safety and peace of mind. PR-ERF was created to save lives by making life saving power accessible for people who need it most.”
Read the full text of the letter to the DOE Secretary in English here: Letter to DOE
Read the full text of the letter to the Governor in Spanish here: Letter to Governor
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About Hispanic Federation
Hispanic Federation (HF) is a nonprofit membership and advocacy organization, founded in 1990, committed to empowering and advancing the Hispanic community, with a focus on low-income, marginalized, and immigrant Latine. With programs in 43 states and territories, HF’s focus areas include immigration, economic empowerment, civic engagement, disaster relief, philanthropy, education, health, and the environment. HF also maintains ongoing public education campaigns and meets the organizational development needs of its member agencies through grant-making and capacity-building assistance.
