Impact of major hurricanes on electricity energy production

Abstract

After major hurricanes, electricity production reduced owing to not only electricity infrastructure destruction, but also the economic crisis associated with damage to private and public activities. Here, we describe the electricity production curves for the islands of Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthelemy and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, where two major hurricanes occurred in 2017. After the major hurricanes, the electricity energy production was characterised by a slow recovery followed by a stable phase during several months, corresponding to approximately 75% of the initial electricity production. A resilience time of several months (1 month < ts < 5 months) is necessary to attain the new electricity energy production equilibrium Eis, which is lower than the initial electricity energy production Ei. The reduction in electricity energy consumption per capita is of 25%. In Saint-Martin, during the post-hurricane stable phase, the electricity production was only 60% of the initial electricity energy production instead of 75%. The reduction of ∼15% in the electricity production of Saint-Martin after Hurricane Irma is attributed to the migration of approximately 8000 inhabitants (approximately 23%) outside the island. This approach makes it possible to anticipate the production of electricity during several months after a major hurricane in the Caribbean islands and to evaluate population displacement.