Puerto Rico’s energy supply faces significant challenges due to longstanding U.S. maritime regulations that restrict how propane—a vital fuel on the island—can be transported. Although the United States is the world’s largest producer of propane, Puerto Rico has historically struggled to access U.S.-sourced propane in meaningful quantities because of the Jones Act, a federal law that regulates shipping between U.S. ports.

The Jones Act requires that vessels moving goods between U.S. ports be constructed, owned, flagged, and crewed by Americans. While the law aims to protect U.S. maritime jobs and ensure security, it has inadvertently created transportation barriers for Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. Specifically, there are no oceangoing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers that meet Jones Act requirements, making direct, cost-effective propane shipments from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico impossible.

Consequently, Puerto Rico has turned to foreign sources to meet its propane needs. In recent years, the island purchased significant quantities from nations such as Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Chile, and Trinidad and Tobago. This reliance on international suppliers stands in contrast to neighboring countries like the Dominican Republic, which imported more than 12 million barrels of U.S. propane last year—far exceeding Puerto Rico’s volume of about 19,000 barrels. The Jones Act does not apply to shipments between U.S. ports and foreign countries, allowing these nations greater flexibility.

In response to energy market volatility linked to geopolitical tensions, the federal government introduced temporary waivers to the Jones Act’s shipping restrictions starting in March. Since then, Puerto Rico has substantially increased its purchases of propane from U.S. mainland sources, acquiring more than twice as much in the past four months as it had in the previous 22 years combined. This shift has reduced Puerto Rico’s reliance on foreign propane to just 6 percent as of May, down from nearly 100 percent before the waivers.

Despite the potential benefits, there remains no incentive for private companies to invest in building Jones Act–compliant LPG tankers, which would effectively grant a government-backed monopoly on domestic propane shipping. This lack of specialized vessels perpetuates the supply bottleneck.

The impact extends beyond Puerto Rico. Regions in the U.S. Northeast also import propane from abroad, despite proximity to domestic production, due to similar restrictions on vessel availability. Whether the waivers will continue through the upcoming winter season remains uncertain.

The situation highlights the complexities and economic inefficiencies that can arise from maritime regulations designed decades ago. The experience of Puerto Rico suggests that current policies limit access to domestic energy resources, driving reliance on foreign imports and higher costs for American consumers.