Puerto Rico Tabletop Exercise

In June, representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE) participated in the 2022 Puerto Rico Black Start Power Outage Tabletop Exercise hosted by the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce’s Energy Policy Program, the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Bureau, and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Caribbean Area Office. 

Throughout the exercise, participants coordinated power restoration efforts, establishing and sharing situational awareness and unifying public messaging. The tabletop sparked discussions around best practices for planning and preparedness during a major power outage scenario in Puerto Rico and strengthened relationships between DOE’s Puerto Rico Recovery Team and team members in FEMA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Puerto Rico Energy Office​.  

Participants came away with a better understanding of Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure vulnerabilities and restoration challenges and how agencies and organizations can work together to prepare for and respond to future energy emergencies.