Her PDP opponent in governor’s race accuses resident commissioner of siding with embattled grid operator, says he will cancel contract
By John McPhaul
Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón, the New Progressive Party (NPP) candidate for governor, announced on Tuesday her intention to create a “czar” to oversee the LUMA Energy contract if she becomes governor.
LUMA is the private operator of the island’s electric power generation
González Colón expressed concern about LUMA’s management and suggested that the company could be looking for an excuse to have the contract canceled, which would result in additional costs for Puerto Rico.
“I would like, and I said it at the beginning with the contract that was awarded, that the secretary of Justice should have evaluated the terms of the contract, which is leonine and does not defend the interests of the people of Puerto Rico,” González Colón said in a radio interview (WKAQ 580).
She also suggested that LUMA could be creating situations to justify canceling the contract and thus receive higher compensation.
“Sometimes I wonder if all these things that LUMA says and does are not a pretext to leave and get paid more because the contract is canceled,” she added.
González Colón said that although she would like to cancel the contract, doing so would be irresponsible due to the cost this would entail for Puerto Rico.
“Canceling a contract like that would immediately cost the people of Puerto Rico more,” she said.
Instead, she proposes the creation of a task force led by a “czar” dedicated to the constant oversight of LUMA, with the implementation of metrics and clear consequences for the company for any noncompliance.
“I believe that one of the things we have to do is with the metrics, imposing criteria, reviewing the contract all the time and having a committee … that is overseeing, following up on this,” González Colón said.
“What they will get from me is oversight and a working committee on top of them all the time, questioning the metrics and ensuring that people’s problems are resolved,” the candidate said.
She added that her approach would include imposing clear consequences for LUMA for service failures, and stressed the need for ongoing oversight, not just in emergency situations.
González Colón said that under her administration, rigorous and constant oversight would be applied to ensure that LUMA complies with its contractual obligations and responds adequately to the needs of its subscribers.
“That oversight and the clampdown we put on it will lead to consequences that do not exist right now,” she said.
González Colón’s main opponent in the governor’s race, Popular Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Jesús Manuel Ortiz González, wasted little time in reacting to the proposal.
“We have to put ourselves in the people’s shoes and the cards are clear today,” said the lawmaker and PDP president in a radio interview (WKAQ 580). “With Jenniffer González, LUMA stays. With me, LUMA leaves and we are going to begin a responsible process for a transition to a new operator. She is on LUMA’s side, I am on the people’s side. She proposes more of the same and I am going to act as a governor who cares about the well-being of his country and his people and the quality of life of the people.”
“LUMA [has] not been able to manage the [electric power] system, they do not have the sense of urgency that the country needs,” Ortiz González added. “Every time the country is without electricity, they hit our economy, they hit the quality of life of the people, they hit the living conditions of the family. It is not the time to be half-hearted or with political calculations and to be changing positions depending on how the wind blows. We are going to execute this responsibly so that the country has the system it deserves.”
The proposal to create an entity to oversee LUMA Energy and Genera PR, the private operator of the island’s electric power generation assets, is not entirely new, however. On June 9 of this year, Manuel Calderón Cerame, the PDP spokesperson in the San Juan Municipal Legislature and candidate for the District 4 (San Juan) seat in the House of Representatives, presented a proposal to oversee the public-private partnership (PPP) contracts for the generation and distribution & transmission of energy.
“The first package of proposals that I will be filing in January 2025 will include the creation by law of the Puerto Rico Department of Energy with the mandate to supervise and enforce the PPP contracts of LUMA and Genera PR, as well as to consolidate into a single public entity the executive functions in energy matters that are currently distributed among several agencies of the Puerto Rico government,” Calderón Cerame said in a written statement.
He noted that part of the purpose for the creation of an energy department is to guarantee compliance with Law No. 17 of 2019, which establishes the public energy policy of Puerto Rico, as well as to ensure compliance with the metrics for the LUMA Energy and Genera PR contracts established by the island Energy Bureau.
Senate President José Luis Dalmau Santiago also jumped into the fracas on Tuesday, saying it is unacceptable that González Colón has decided to stay with LUMA Energy and that she characterizes the cancellation of the private consortium’s contract to operate the electrical system in Puerto Rico as irresponsible.
He said what is irresponsible is to leave the NPP and LUMA in charge of the island’s electricity transmission and distribution system.
“While the NPP continues to destroy the country, Puerto Ricans suffer the consequences of the poor administration of this government,” Dalmau Santiago said in a written statement. “It was precisely the NPP that accelerated the debt in the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, creating the economic crisis we are experiencing today with the bankruptcy.”
“Jenniffer González’s position today puts her on the same level as Pedro Pierluisi, whom she criticized so much during the last primary,” he added.
“The differences between the NPP and the PDP are clear,” Dalmau Santiago said further, echoing his party’s president and candidate for governor. “The PDP will cancel the LUMA contract, which has caused so much damage to the quality of life of Puerto Ricans; and Jenniffer González has already assured that she will keep LUMA. Resident commissioner, it is irresponsible to allow thousands of Puerto Ricans to be without electricity, and for this company to continue to be in charge of the electrical system.”
Juan Dalmau Ramírez, the candidate for governor for the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and the Alliance between the PIP and the Citizen Victory Movement, also lashed out on Tuesday against González Colón following her statements about LUMA, as well as the revelation that a $225,000 contract had been awarded by the Department of Education to her campaign treasurer.
“Jenniffer González should take the story she told herself when she criticized LUMA for electoral opportunism in the primary: ‘This is no longer funny,’” Dalmau Ramírez said in a written statement. “For the people who condemn the mismanagement of public funds and LUMA’s abuse, taking one step forward and three steps back is not a joke.”
The PIP leader accused González Colón of showing who she really answers to and criticized what he called “political opportunism.”
“Jenniffer González once again shows her true colors,” he said. “Her statements confirm what interests she answers to and has always been subject to. Once again, she is acting out of political opportunism and not conviction by justifying an exorbitant contract for one of her closest campaign collaborators with the Department of Education and protecting LUMA’s contract.”
Comments