Unless you’re living under a rock, you know about Bad Bunny’s historic performance at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. The Puerto Rican mega-star performed an exciting set with subtle nods to a few different social issues, including US immigration and Puerto Rico’s historical political struggles.
One part of the performance stood out as odd to many viewers, including myself. Midway through the show, while the camera was on Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny transitioned to a cluster of utility poles. Background dancers hung off the poles and Benito eventually climbed a platform with a Puerto Rican flag in hand.
Though not as strange as the infamous Miley Cyrus wrecking ball imagery we all wish we’d forget, this part of the halftime show definitely piqued my interest. What’s with the utility poles?
As it turns out, the utility poles weren’t random. The poles – as well as the sparks they created and the concurrent flashing stadium lights – symbolize the unreliability of Puerto Rico’s electricity grid.
Puerto Rico, home of Bad Bunny and a US territory of 3.2 million people in the Caribbean, has a notoriously unreliable electricity grid. Without getting too deep into why this is, it suffices to simplify the issue as stemming from one major source: funding.
As a US territory, Puerto Rico is, in theory, supposed to receive significant federal funding for its electricity grid, which includes upgrading transmission infrastructure and adding renewable energy capacity. However, Puerto Rico’s power sector is historically underfunded, with the federal Department of Energy recently cutting $800m from a billion dollar fund aimed at uplifting the island’s electricity grid.
As a result of a lack of funding – combined with multi-billion-debt held by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority – electricity supply to Puerto Rico residents is prone to regular widespread blackouts. Puerto Rico experiences blackouts even on sunny, blue-sky days throughout the year.
During storms and hurricanes, electricity can go out for days and can destroy critical infrastructure like transmission lines. In fact, major weather events are one of the big reasons why the island’s electricity infrastructure is in such poor condition.
Blackouts and dated infrastructure aside, Puerto Ricans also pay three times the US national average for their electricity. Power is unreliable AND unaffordable – that’s not an ideal combination.
But what does all this have to do with New Brunswick, an Atlantic Canadian province?
New Brunswick and Puerto Rico probably don’t have all too much in common other than the fact they’re both bilingual. But what they do have in common is a significant electricity grid issue.
Puerto Rico’s electricity struggles have been well-documented over the years and have now entered the mainstream thanks to Bad Bunny (who has been raising awareness on this issue since at least 2022).
New Brunswick’s story isn’t nearly as documented. In fact, I’m willing to bet most people who live in New Brunswick don’t even know something is wrong with their electricity grid.
The problem with New Brunswick’s power supply is this: they’re running out of juice.
NB Power (the province’s power authority) says that if capacity isn’t added to meet new demand, the province will have an electricity shortage by 2028. An electricity shortage unaddressed will translate to brownouts, jacked up electricity rates for consumers, and some pretty chilly winter nights.
Look, we’re not talking about rolling brownouts in South Africa here. Nor are we talking about the blackout-prone, over-crowded streets of Bangkok (as seen in The Hangover Part II – great movie, by the way).
This is New Brunswick. One of Canada’s original provinces. Home of Willie O’Ree and Stompin’ Tom Connors. Moncton. UNB. The Bay of Fundy. You know the one.
New Brunswick has seen an increase in population in recent years, as most provinces have. Electricity supply and capacity must increase to meet added demand. And in New Brunswick, this increase isn’t happening fast enough.
As an NB Power executive puts it: “When they ran the numbers through their model, the light bulb went off that we’re very quickly running out of electricity in New Brunswick.” NB Power is in discussions with energy suppliers to build new power plants for added capacity, but large-scale power projects don’t pop up overnight. New Brunswick has a healthy, diversified mixture of energy sources (nuclear, hydro, natural gas) – diversifying isn’t the issue here, it’s capacity.
Whether or not a true electricity shortage will materialize in the next couple of years is yet to be seen. Either way, residents of New Brunswick should be concerned. It’s not necessarily just Puerto Rico or other places around the world that experience brownouts, blackouts, and power supply issues. At home, while the lights still flick on today, that privilege is not guaranteed going forward.
What’s more, Puerto Rico and New Brunswick also share high electricity rates and a power authority with huge debt levels. NB Power is facing serious financial strain and has consequently been rolling out rate increases that are jacking up the cost of living across the province.
So, while Bad Bunny’s activism for the betterment of Puerto Rico should be the main takeaway from this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, the performance should also serve to alert us to electricity supply and affordability issues here at home.
New Brunswick needs more power. That means more investment, more projects, more infrastructure, more jobs, and more prosperity. Above all, New Brunswick – and all of Canada – needs more young voices supporting energy and resource development.
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