By The Star Staff
Gov. Jenniffer González Colón convened a meeting with the island’s energy component following the visit of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 Administrator Michael Martucci as part of efforts to ensure electric power service on the island, prioritizing the peak summer season.
“The EPA plays a leading role in the modernization and restructuring of our generating plants. Therefore, today I am hosting the EPA Region 2 Regional Administrator, Michael ‘Mike. Martucci, to inspect the San Juan Power Plant with the energy component of my cabinet,” the governor said. “During his two-day visit, we will discuss multiple options to strengthen and guarantee our people’s energy security in the short, medium, and long term, as well as the status of the various other EPA programs active in Puerto Rico.”
Martucci said: “The work now is to identify the opportunities that exist to bring reliability, affordability, and stability to what’s happening here.”
“For my part, the message is simple: we are here to help you do that in every way we can,” he said. “As resident commissioner, you fought hard for these federal funds for the islands, and it’s our job to make sure we can help you leverage them and implement them properly.”
Also present at the meeting, held at the San Juan Power Station, were La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech, Natural and Environmental Resources Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez, Energy Czar and Public-Private Partnerships Authority Executive Director Josué Colón Ortiz, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Executive Director Mary C. Zapata Acosta, Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Executive Director Gabriella Boffelli, Genera PR President & CEO Winnie Irizarry-Velázquez, and LUMA Energy Vice President of Operations Systems Raphael Gignac, among others.
As part of the tour, Martucci was shown the generators that were part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency mission supported by the governor, with 250 megawatts installed and that will require authorization to operate beyond 2027. Also observed was the ship that was making the first delivery of natural gas from the United States, whose entry is possible thanks to the funds to dredge the San Juan Bay that were secured during González Colón’s term in Congress, as well as the units of the plant that are being repaired using the allocated federal funds, such as unit 7, where work is expected to be completed in the summer.