By John McPhaul
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Tuesday that it is obvious that the issue of electric power is a matter of political-party campaigning. However, he added, while it is easy to make proposals, what is really difficult is to carry them out.
“It’s not a matter of a plan B, it’s a matter of everyone here … right now we are in an electoral process, so those who are aspiring to the governorship are making their proposals,” the governor said at a press conference.
“We will see who the people trust,” he added. “They make their proposals and we will see who prevails and what they achieve later.”
The governor stressed that while the two mainstream party candidates for governor -- Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón of the New Progressive Party (NPP) and Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz González of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) -- are busy presenting dueling proposals for what they will do about LUMA Energy, the embattled private operator of the island’s electric power transmission and distribution system, his administration is focused on constant oversight and supervision, especially with regard to the electrical system.
“We are working,” he said. “And the way we are dealing with this issue is by constantly supervising and inspecting. We are doing it and we will continue to do so until January 1.”
“Every time information reaches La Fortaleza about any pending issue in the electrical system, whether it be distribution, transmission, generation, we are there to follow up,” Pierluisi said. “Of course, those who do not have electricity, or even worse, do not have water, will be very upset and uncomfortable and we recognize that. But that is our function.”
In reference to the proposals related to LUMA that have emerged in the electoral context, the governor said “the issue of the proposals and that they [candidates] have been suggesting legislation, new entities, cancellation, but before cancellation I don’t know what … Everything they propose, those are proposals. And that, well, look, I am going to say that it is easy to propose.”
“What is difficult is to do,” Pierluisi emphasized. “And we are doing it within the law and order, within the contracts that have been awarded; we are doing our job.”
Regarding the future of the electrical system, the governor said “No one can be satisfied.”
“We are in the process of rebuilding it,” he said. “There are over 200 construction projects related to the electrical grid and the generation plants. We are also following up on that.”
On Monday, Ortiz González said González Colón was being inconsistent with regard to LUMA Energy, saying that she accused the private grid operator of fraud, but insists on not canceling its contract.
A day earlier, González Colón had accused LUMA of fraud, but maintained that she is not going to act hastily to cancel the public-private partnership contract that took effect in June 2021.
“Jenniffer said, and I quote: ‘I believe that they [LUMA] are manipulating the data.’ To manipulate statistics is a fraud against the government,” Ortiz González said at a press conference. “That is to say, Jenniffer believes the company is committing fraud and that could mean violation of the state and federal law. If that’s the case, there must be consequences for those who engage in this illegal act. We should not permit maintaining such an onerous contract for the country.”.
He said he notified LUMA President & CEO Juan Saca about the actions he will take to cancel the company’s contract.
“Today I am giving LUMA notice that, as soon as I am elected governor, I will proceed with the immediate cancellation of the contract that they have today,” Ortiz González said. “I ask them on behalf of the people of Puerto Rico to begin the transition because they are leaving.”
“In accordance with this,” the PDP candidate for governor continued, quoting from his missive to Saca, ‘I indicate to you in this communication that I am sending you today, the gross, continuous, public and ascending non-compliance of LUMA’s contractual obligations with Puerto Rico and that this non-compliance has a cause date and its imminent departure begins on November 5, 2024. On that day, LUMA’s defenders will be defeated and they will be defeated by the people of Puerto Rico, who suffer everything from the terrible actions of LUMA’s performance. I will have the honor of carrying out the execution of the mandate at the polls to remove LUMA.’”
Ortiz González went on to list, again quoting his communique, “the following actions” he intends to take against LUMA as governor:
“‘Number 1, on January 30, 2025, I will be communicating to the members of the Transition Committee to resume control of the transmission and distribution of energy from your company in accordance with article 16 of the agreement between LUMA and the Public-Private Partnerships Authority,’” Ortiz González said. The candidate stressed in the notification to Saca that the proposed transition “‘will not affect … the employees and supervisors’” who form the vast majority of the LUMA workforce, but rather those “‘who will be replaced by the action of our government, the executive layer that currently runs LUMA and that has failed Puerto Rico.’”
“‘These two operations that LUMA has are divided into an executive layer of six executives paid by LUMA funds and a group of Puerto Rican employees who work and are paid by public funds,’” Ortiz González said. “‘If you are an employee of LUMA, you have nothing to worry about. What we are going to see is changing that management and going through a process to guarantee the country an effective system.’”
“‘Number 2, I will order the Electric Power Authority to identify all of the repeated breaches by the LUMA company,’” Ortiz González continued. “‘I will demand that LUMA be investigated and based on the findings, we will request the imposition of a fine for article 6.36 of 10.57 of 2014 and which are contemplated by section 20.17 of your agreement. We will replace the limits that this law establishes today, which are arbitrary limits, to impose higher fines so that justice is done to consumers and I will take the claims to the ultimate consequences.
“‘Number 3, I will also order the Department of Consumer Affairs, and whoever is its secretary as of January 2025, to begin class actions to enforce consumer rights against LUMA. Claims for damages for purchases of damaged equipment and belongings will be promoted by my administration.’”
“If the government did its job, if it had done so a long time ago, this situation would not be as it is today,” added Ortiz González, who in his missive went on to detail some instances which in his judgment demonstrated that the company has failed to comply with its obligations to Puerto Rico.
As previously reported by the STAR, González Colón on Monday reiterated her position that the LUMA Energy contract, along with other public-private contracts implemented in the energy sector, would best be handled by a proposed energy “czar” who would be empowered by law to monitor contractors’ compliance with local laws and enforce the government’s energy policy with respect to the contractors’ actions.
“When I talk about a czar, I’m talking about a specialized team that can do that job,” the NPP candidate for governor said. “Within the framework of the law, they are representatives of the government of Puerto Rico, because we’ve already seen that whoever is in the office of Public-Private Partnerships, well, they operate as an assistant. I don’t want an assistant, I want an overseer. Someone who is speaking for the interests of the people of Puerto Rico and who gives me, as governor, the tools to be able to put in line not only LUMA, but any government contractor that fails to comply with the people of Puerto Rico.”
González Colón noted that, if her oversight gathers sufficient evidence, she would consider canceling the contract with LUMA Energy.
The candidate added that the other major energy issue she would address early in her first term as governor is the conversion to natural gas and hydrogen of the island’s generation plants that still operate with Bunker C fuel.
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