The Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board has remained fairly quiet during the last several weeks of turmoil and massive demonstrations that have rocked Puerto Rico in protest over the corruption of the [Ricardo] Rosselló administration. On July 23rd, the Board issued a press release stating that, “The people of Puerto Rico deserve a […]
In a letter to federal inspectors general, IEEFA director of finance Tom Sanzillo and energy analyst Cathy Kunkel urged increased scrutiny of any contracting involving the Puerto Rican government. The analysts warned that the latest scandals involving Puerto Rican officials raise serious questions about the legality and propriety of contracts relying on federal funds, in […]
Author Cathy Kunkel ([email protected]) is an IEEFA energy analyst. Author Tom Sanzillo ([email protected]) is IEEFA’s Director of Finance. On Friday, July 12, José Carrión, chairman of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, noted that the recent corruption and other scandals over the past couple of weeks would negatively impact the island’s economic […]
The Puerto Rican government has imploded spectacularly over the last two weeks. Multiple cabinet-level officials have resigned or been fired, and former cabinet officials have been arrested in an FBI corruption probe. The scandal has led to an overwhelming call for Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to resign. Two former cabinet officials, as well as several individuals […]
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 […]
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority attempted to go back on the agreement it had reached with nonprofit organization CAMBIO and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) to deliver public documents related to utility’s, as well as electrical system data, by June 7, the nonprofits said. Six days after making this commitment, […]
Supporters of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s proposed debt restructuring agreement — including Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and PREPA Executive Director José Ortiz — have recently argued that the rate increase imposed by the agreement will be mitigated by operational savings that will lower electricity rates. The governor’s and PREPA’s public statements about rate decreases […]
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Puerto Rican nonprofit CAMBIO obtained a court agreement pledging the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to respond to and deliver within 14 days public documents regarding the PREPA privatization process, as well as data about the electrical system. The agreement between the parties was […]
A “business as usual” bond deal is about to be foisted upon Puerto Rico’s ratepayers and fledgling economy. It will result in a $400 million annual cash draw for at least the next 20 years. Think about wasting money on overpriced oil, political appointees and useless consultants over the last twenty years and then paying for […]
Creating a competitive free market for electricity in Puerto Rico was a recurring theme of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee hearing held April 9th on the rebuilding and privatization of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). But the discussion of what a competitive electricity market would look like remained vague, along with details […]
Last month, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority filed its long-anticipated integrated resource plan – a 20-year plan for the transformation of the island’s power generation system – with its regulator, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau. In the plan, PREPA details various scenarios for the build-out of generation infrastructure and a five-year action plan of […]
Puerto Rico’s Senate and House of Representatives are finalizing an energy policy bill that amends the existing privatization plan for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. One of the remaining issues is whether to require future private utility owners to honor existing PREPA collective bargaining agreements with labor unions. The legislature should protect these agreements. […]
Editor’s Note: The following is an analysis by Tom Sanzillo ([email protected]), IEEFA’s director of finance and Cathy Kunkel ([email protected]), an IEEFA energy analyst. It is being reprinted as it originally appeared in IEEFA’s website. The government of Puerto Rico is moving forward with plans to convert two units at the San Juan power plant from […]
Last week, Excelerate Energy, the company that planned to develop a natural gas import terminal in Puerto Rico, requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory withdraw its authorization for the project.
The report “Queremos Sol” (“We Want Sun”) outlines a power-system transformation that would place sustainability and self-sufficiency ahead of dependency on imported fossil fuels.
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