On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee will hold an oversight hearing on Puerto Rico’s electrical system and the LUMA Energy grid privatization contract. Since LUMA Energy took over the island’s transmission and distribution system operations on June 1, electrical service in Puerto Rico has deteriorated even further — including unacceptably long outage […]
Failures and frustrations identified in the first two months of LUMA Energy’s operation of Puerto Rico’s energy grid highlight underlying flaws with the privatization contract, according to an analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Since the June 1 takeover, Puerto Rico residents “have experienced significant problems because of LUMA’s implementation of its electric […]
More than two weeks into its management of Puerto Rico’s electrical system, private contractor LUMA Energy is not off to a good start. Frequent power outages and service delays have tested the patience of an already over-burdened customer base since LUMA Energy took control of the island’s electric system in a privatization switchover on June […]
The Federal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) and the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) have each approved budgets for the electrical system for Fiscal Year 2022. The FOMB’s budget demonstrates its abject failure since its inception to produce a transparent budget that demonstrates progress on savings initiatives and meeting the commonwealth’s renewable energy goals. The […]
Company executives and government officials broke ground on the future LUMA College for Technical Training, a $10 million training facility being funded by LUMA parent companies ATCO and Quanta Services. Assessments, onboarding and workforce development are already underway at the LUMA College site, which will become fully operational in phases over the next few months […]
Puerto Rico’s key electrical system privatization initiative has been a long-shot to save money for the people of Puerto Rico — and the odds are getting longer, according to an analysis of the 15-year contract with LUMA Energy and its proposed budgets for the next three years. An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis […]
An objective analysis of the award of a 15-year privatization contract for Puerto Rico’s electrical system to LUMA Energy raises numerous red flags about the integrity of the process. LUMA is scheduled to take over the non-generation functions of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) on June 1, including transmission, distribution, billing, customer service, […]
By Eliván Martínez MercadoCenter for Investigative Journalism Hiring a law firm that charges up to $1,245 per hour. The outsourcing of foreign companies such as Alumbra, from Colorado, which has billed as much as $1.3 million in a single month for plans to transform the energy system without having gone through a competitive process. This […]
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority recently took last place in a survey conducted by J.D. Power that ranks 144 utilities based on six criteria that include power quality and reliability, price, customer care and communication. PREPA’s score was almost 50% lower than the average utility, 47% worse than the second worst comparable utility and […]
The devastation caused by Hurricane María in 2017 highlighted Puerto Rico’s “antiquated, expensive and fossil fuel-dependent” electricity grid, providing the Biden administration with an historic opportunity to transform a vital part of the island’s economy. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) recommends in a new policy brief that the administration battle entrenched interests that […]
Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell has been awarded a contract for program management services to support the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) with the revitalization of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The work will be primarily funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Community […]
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced the creation of a steering committee to oversee the Public Private Partnership contract to run the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s transmission and distribution granted to LUMA Energy. The steering committee was established in response to Executive Order 2021-012, which calls for overseeing and ensuring that the enactment of the contract […]
In August 2020, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau approved a long-term plan for the island’s electrical system that called for greater investments in renewable energy and storage. The bureau worked for months to integrate analysis from a variety of stakeholders and eventually rejected new natural gas initiatives because of their costs and logistical challenges. Yet […]
The week before Christmas, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB) quietly announced a plan for the Commonwealth’s government to loan almost $1 billion to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to facilitate the privatization of the island’s transmission and distribution system. This plan was presented in a poorly documented filing […]
U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved the contract between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and LUMA Energy, determining it can be considered as an administrative expense for the power utility. The decision followed section 503 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, under which PREPA is covered. LUMA will charge PREPA some $60 million […]
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