Nearly half a million customers are still without power in Puerto Rico

Nearly half a million customers still don’t have power in Puerto Rico, CNN reported, according to the island’s electric power authority.

Still, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) announced Wednesday it had restored power to more than 1 million clients since Hurricane Maria devastated the island about four months ago, calling the number a “major milestone.”

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Justo Gonzalez, PREPA’s interim executive director, said in a statement, though, that there are still “several hundred thousand residents and business owners who remain without power, which is unacceptable.”

According to CNN, 68.25 percent of the utility’s customers now have power.

Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico last year, devastating the island and leaving many people without power and clean water.

President Trump faced backlash for his administration’s response to the hurricane, with some officials saying his administration did not do enough to help following the disaster.

Earlier this month, Puerto Rico’s governor announced that he plans to sell the assets of the island’s power system to the private sector in an effort to improve its “deficient service.”

Maria hit the island as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest storm to hit the island in more than 80 years.

Tags disaster relief Donald Trump Electricity Hurricane Maria PREPA Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority

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