In front of an audience of millions, Bad Bunny used a segment of his halftime show to highlight the electrical grid problems that continue to plague his native Puerto Rico.
The segment featured dancers dressed as linemen dancing on electrical poles, one of which Bad Bunny climbed as he performed.
The performance served as a reminder that Puerto Rico has continued to experience inconsistent electricity supplies in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico in 2022, exacerbating the problem.
In Puerto Rico, "electricity problems are an everyday problem," energy expert Max Lainfiesta said, according to Scientific American.
About $1 billion in funding had been earmarked to help rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid, but the current administration's Department of Energy has cancelled more than $800 million of that money, per Scientific American.
The administration also shut down a program that was aimed at installing backup solar power at hospitals and the homes of low-income, medically vulnerable individuals.
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The cancellations have left Puerto Rico's electrical system in limbo, leaving the island's roughly 3 million inhabitants without reliable power. To add to the problems, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is approximately $9 billion in debt.
The situation in Puerto Rico has also served as a warning of what can happen when a region lacks reliable access to electricity. In the continental U.S., electricity prices have surged as increased demand from massive data centers has far outpaced growth in the supply of electricity.
The Super Bowl halftime show was not the first time Bad Bunny has tried to draw attention to Puerto Rico's electricity issues. In 2022, he released a short documentary highlighting the problem.
Solar power has the potential to help address Puerto Rico's ongoing electricity concerns.
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For example, one resident took to Reddit to describe how their solar panels kept their power on for days in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. "I'm living like the electricity never went out," they wrote.
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