An analysis argues that Puerto Rico's private sector already absorbs massive hidden costs from unreliable electricity and water, and that ocean-based infrastructure could be a market opportunity rather than just a budget problem. Official estimates put the cost of a single islandwide blackout at nearly $215 million per day; economists José Alameda and José Toral calculated the 2022 blackout caused over $552 million in direct losses in 48 hours, or nearly $939 million including indirect effects—almost a full percentage point of GDP.
By comparison, Sorek, the world's largest desalination plant in Israel, cost about $500 million to build. The piece also notes Puerto Rico loses 59%-65% of treated water before billing, versus a 12% U.S. industry average, forcing businesses to hedge with generators, cisterns and water trucks.
It cites Israel's reverse-osmosis water supply at $0.55 per cubic meter and recent Middle East tenders below $0.50. It highlights Caribbean models in Aruba and Curaçao, where private operators finance and run desalination plants under build-own-operate-transfer and "water-as-a-service" agreements, including Curaçao's 20-year, privately financed deal—the region's largest in a decade—as a template Puerto Rico could adapt for resorts, industrial parks and manufacturers.