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Power, Water, and a Faster Ferry to Vieques · 787daily — Puerto Rico Every Morning

• 0:00
  Good morning, Puerto Rico!
• 0:01
  This is 787daily, your Puerto Rico briefing for Thursday, October 29.
• 0:05
  Grab your coffee, because the lights and the taps are our top story today.
• 0:09
  Let's start with the power.
• 0:10
  Many residents were bracing for another night without electricity.
• 0:13
  Genera PR has been racing to bring back San Juan Central unit five, which has been down since a lubrication pump failure.
• 0:19
  The goal was to get it running before Wednesday's evening peak, the stretch from six to nine p.m. when demand climbs highest.
• 0:25
  If you've been sitting in the dark, we hear you.
• 0:28
  And there's more power news for today.
• 0:30
  LUMA Energy will carry out maintenance, repair and modernization work on the grid this Thursday in various towns, and that work could interrupt service in 15 of them.
• 0:38
  This one is planned work on the grid itself, separate from the generation problem.
• 0:42
  So check whether your town is on the list, and maybe charge your phone while you can.
• 0:47
  Power isn't the only thing people are waiting on.
• 0:50
  Water is the other.
• 0:51
  In the east, Puerto Rico's Aqueduct and Sewer Authority says it has finished repairs on the pipeline that carries water from the reservoir to the Fajardo filtration plant.
• 0:59
  The authority projects service coming back in Fajardo, Ceiba and Luquillo between Wednesday night and Thursday.
• 1:03
  Fingers crossed for steady taps.
• 1:05
  Now, water is also a story about what's behind the taps.
• 1:08
  In Comerío, the La Plata reservoir dropped again as the drought persists.
• 1:11
  It fell 12 centimeters in 24 hours, and it now sits 1.78 meters above the Control band.
• 1:17
  La Plata serves about 130,000, 828 subscribers in nine towns.
• 1:21
  The good news for now: no rationing is planned yet.
• 1:24
  But the level is worth watching.
• 1:26
  Let's turn to something with a view of the horizon.
• 1:29
  The Puerto Rico Senate heard plans for a new Vieques ferry pier, plus new bus routes and a Tren Urbano study.
• 1:35
  The headline here is the Mosquito Pier.
• 1:37
  ATI expects to publish the ferry request for proposals in January 2027, award the contract in May, and build from June 2027 through 2028.
• 1:45
  The payoff?
• 1:45
  Travel time to Vieques cut by about 30 minutes.
• 1:48
  That's half an hour more beach, and nobody's complaining about that.
• 1:51
  Last up, a piece of history getting a second life.
• 1:54
  The Puerto Rico Land Administration announced that the General Services Administration Bidding Board awarded a 7.8 million dollar contract to rebuild the Hotel Baños de Coamo.
• 2:02
  It's a big investment in a place with a lot of story behind it.
• 2:06
  That's your briefing.
• 2:07
  You can read every story in full at 787daily.com.
• 2:11
  This has been 787daily, and we'll be back with you tomorrow.
• 2:15
  And before you go, your Puerto Rico fun fact for today: Ponce, on the southern coast, is nicknamed La Perla del Sur (the Pearl of the South).