NEW
YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico should "start from scratch" rebuilding its
already outdated power infrastructure after deadly Hurricane Maria last
year devastated it and left citizens marooned, the U.S. central banker
overseeing the island territory said on Thursday.
New
York Fed President William Dudley did not comment on U.S. interest
rates in a presentation of research on the effects of the storm that
struck on Sept. 20. It was the worst natural disaster in 90 years and
the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history.
The
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, whose district includes the Caribbean
island, said Maria wiped out about 4 percent of its jobs, the
fifth-worst among U.S. disaster regions in recent decades. Dudley said
it will likely take "many more months" to restore electricity and
critical infrastructure to Puerto Rico, adding it was unclear how many
of the tens of thousands of residents who fled will eventually return.
Given
the already outdated and inefficient power plants, he said, "now is a
perfect opportunity for Puerto Rico to essentially start from scratch
and build a resilient power generation and distribution network."
Source: YahooNews
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