Puerto Rico announced Sunday that it plans to privatize electricity generation, a first for a U.S. territory facing chronic power outages as it struggles to rebuild a crumbling electric grid.

Puerto Rico’s governor on Thursday denounced the private company his administration contracted to take over the island’s power transmission and distribution system amid a recent spike in electricity outages that have outraged many in the U.S. territory.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Fed up with rolling blackouts and the rising price of electricity, Puerto Ricans continue to hit the streets in protest against the Puerto Rican government’s contract with LUMA Energy while calling for the resignation of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and the end of the Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico (FOMBPR).

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A private company that took over power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico this month has struggled with widespread outages and growing anger as it scrambled Thursday to control a large fire at a main substation that left thousands in the dark.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The CEO of Puerto Rico’s state-owned power company is resigning as thousands of clients remain without electricity since last week’s tropical storm that further weakened a grid still trying to recover from previous hurricanes and earthquakes, officials said Monday.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jorge Ortiz, a 50-year-old construction worker, was taking no chances as Tropical Storm Dorian approached Puerto Rico on Tuesday and threatened to brush past the island’s southwest coast at near-hurricane strength.

On Monday, U.S. Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm announced a $453.3 million commitment to finance rooftop solar panels and battery systems for Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities.

On Wednesday hundreds of people in Puerto Rico including religious leaders, economists, teachers and retirees protested a proposed increase to already high electric bills that a growing number of people in the U.S. territory are struggling to pay.

Stepping outside in Puerto Rico’s capital city feels like walking inside a giant oven due to an “unprecedented” and record-breaking heat wave, which has already caused power and water outages as well as health concerns.

With rising temperatures and the increasing threat of tropical storms due to climate change menacing Puerto Rico, many fear the islands’ access to electrical power will only worsen under privatization.

A U.S. government study has determined that with little room on the island for large-scale solar farms or wind generators, Puerto Rico should aim to reach its clean-energy goals by installing solar panels on all suitable rooftops, along with airports, brownfields, and industrial areas.

Almost $9 billion in bad debt and a half-century of high electricity prices hang in the balance in Puerto Rico.

Three days before LUMA Energy’s contract is set to expire, the Public-Private Partnerships Authority requested authorization to extend LUMA’s provisional contract until the debt restructuring process for the publicly owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is finalized.

The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it will provide Puerto Rico with temporary electric generation via barges to help in restoring the island’s storm-devastated power grid and ease repeated widespread outages.

On Tuesday, Sunrun, the largest rooftop solar installer in the U.S., announced a deal with Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority to launch the island’s first “virtual” power plant to help reduce power bills and offer a backup energy source.

Puerto Rico’s Energy Bureau announced Thursday that it will investigate how a private company has handled complaints about electric bills after Hurricane Fiona knocked power out to the entire island.

Puerto Ricans are pushing for sustained interconnectivity between stakeholders doing the rebuilding in the islands and the diaspora and its allies advocating for long-term investment from the mainland — and these coordination efforts are largely driven by women’s networks.

Preliminary evaluations show Hurricane Fiona damaged 50 percent of transmission lines and distribution feeders across Puerto Rico as hundreds of thousands remain without power or water service almost two weeks after the storm hit, officials said Thursday.

In the five years since Hurricane María tore through their country, the people of Puerto Rico have made efforts to rebuild in hopes that they would be ready for the next disaster. Hurricane Fiona, a Category 1 storm that swept through the island on Sunday, has shattered such hopes.

Since Hurricane María struck in September 2017, the government has completed only 21 percent of more than 5,500 official post-hurricane projects, and seven of the island’s 78 municipalities report that not a single project has begun.

The eye of newly formed Hurricane Fiona neared Puerto Rico’s south coast on Sunday. already causing an island-wide power blackout and threatening to dump “historic” levels of rain.