Puerto Rico Energy Bureau OKs $51.5M in 19 upgrade projects at PREPA
The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau announced the approval of 19 projects representing a $51.5 million investment at the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, focused on improvements to the generating plants of Costa Sur, Palo Seco, San Juan, and Aguirre.
“Among several proposals that PREPA presented to the Bureau, these 19 projects represent a necessary investment to provide its customers with continuity in the delivery of energy since we restore the generation plants, some of which still experience operational challenges because of, among other issues, the passage of the 2017 hurricanes,” said PREB President Edison Avilés-Deliz.
The projects will now go to the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for approval.
The investment does not represent a rate change since approval is conditional on PREPA seeking reimbursement under several FEMA programs, which may include the Public Assistance Program: Section 428 or Section 404 programs, the regulatory agency noted.
The approved plans seek to improve the reliability of generation resources, increase their availability, and provide a continuous generation service; repair damage to equipment and plant areas; and renovate facilities to perform to pre-disaster codes and standards.
In the description of the projects, PREPA included the cost estimate, equipment specifications, the corresponding auctions for the applicable projects, as well as the documents for the projects that would be carried out by an exclusive supplier, if this was the supplier’s case, the PREB stated.
As part of the request for the projects, the PREB requested information related to the status of each of the generation projects; how and when the investment will help achieve the return availability of the units; the date the unit would be available; as well as the duration and availability status of the unit after the investment.
