Resident helps restore electricity in Puerto Rico
It’s been more than three months since Hurricane Maria ravished the island of Puerto Rico, but the latest report from FEMA estimates that more than 34 percent of the population remains without power. Restoring power back to the thousands who need it is a big task, but helping bear the burden is Massapequa’s Timothy Harris, an economic development consultant with PSEG Long Island who recently traveled to the Caribbean island to help rebuild the severely damaged electrical grid.
Harris was one of more than 50 PSEG Long Island employees and contractors who were deployed to Puerto Rico since early November. He spent one month there, from Nov. 8 through Dec. 8, celebrating Thanksgiving in a mess hall eating turkey and gravy with about 200 other volunteers.
“That was difficult, because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday,” Harris admitted. “But at the same token, going down there for something like this was rewarding. I was giving something up, but gaining a lot more down there.”
Harris’ trip took him from the beachy shores of San Juan to the mountain towns to inland cities. A typical day began with him waking up at 4:30 a.m. and driving anywhere between one to three hours to begin his patrols. His duties included looking at poles, wires, transformers and other equipment, noting what was needed to repair the infrastructure and taking a picture with a special program that would send crews the exact location of the site.
Part of the challenge in restoring power, Harris noted, is the terrain of the area, which includes steep mountains accessible only by narrow, unguarded roads, some of which had been washed away or blocked by debris.
And while his work in Puerto Rico wasn’t easy—many days consisted of 12 hours of driving unsafe roads without comforts like familiar food, family and entertainment to look forward to at the end of the shift—Harris knew how important his job was, having survived the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy a few years prior.
“During Hurricane Sandy my house was wrecked. To see how many people came out to help me personally, it was nice to be able to give back,” Harris said. “[In Puerto Rico] there were periods of frustration, some of the driving was extremely difficult, but you start thinking about how there’s people who need us and that was always on the back of my mind.”
There were many instances of instant gratification as well, as Puerto Ricans were overjoyed to see crews working to restore their power. At one strip of homes he went to, the homeowners came out and applauded Harris and his crew members.
“When we showed up, we brought hope that there might be some kind of electricity coming back to them,” Harris said. “Even the poorest places would bring us water, they went out of their way to make us welcome. Everyone was so happy to see us.”
