PREPA’s limited delivery of documents extends suit filed by CAMBIO and IEEFA
CAMBIO, a local nonprofit, and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) expressed their dissatisfaction at the San Juan Superior Court about the limited amount of public information they have received from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
In response, Judge Anthony Cuevas-Ramos, who is presiding over the case has summoned the parties back in court on Aug. 1, for a follow-up hearing, the groups announced.
“We’re not satisfied with what they have given us so far as some documents were previously released, such as PREPA’s Fiscal Plan from August 2018 and the Integrated Resources Plan from February 2019, and presentations summarizing reports without data to support decision-making process,” said Ingrid M. Vila-Biaggi, president of CAMBIO.
The parties must meet again on July 19 after PREPA delivers a certification from any of its officers on July 2 confirming the requests CAMBIO and IEEFA submitted and “for which they allege not having information,” said Vila-Biaggi.
During the hearing, PREPA again raised a confidentiality claim to avoid delivering electrical system’s data.
Cathy Kunkel, IEEFA energy analyst, said “this information is necessary to have an effective public participation, to perform system modeling approaches and rigorously evaluate the plans proposed by PREPA.”
Among the documents requested by CAMBIO and IEEFA, related to the privatization process and data related to PREPA’s power system, the public corporation made an initial delivery June 7, and then other partial deliveries on June 14 and June 17.
CAMBIO and IEEFA went to court in May with a mandamus against PREPA to demand delivery of public information, after requesting it for months without reply.
On May 24, before Cuevas-Ramos they reached an agreement through which PREPA would deliver documents on June 7.
Although PREPA subsequently filed resources to try to reverse that commitment, the public corporation’s attorneys agreed to hand over certain documents on June 7. They requested for more time, until June 14, to submit the remaining documents related to PREPA’s privatization and the corporation itself.
The transformation of the energy system “will directly affect the citizens because we will see the result in our bills and the quality and reliability of service. This is why disclosure of public information is essential,” Vila-Biaggi said.
Rope-a-dope! It’s hard to fight the good battle, and time keeps dragging on….