Puerto Rico Morning Brief Thursday, October 1, 2026

Electric bills in Puerto Rico go up today: the Energy Bureau has confirmed that a household using 800 kWh a month will pay $42.27 more a month than it did from July to September. The increase lands on households directly, as a higher monthly charge on every residential account.

The electrical system is also under financial strain on the operator side. LUMA Energy is warning of a liquidity crisis in the system, and Genera is seeking $30 million for an emergency reserve. What they establish is that LUMA is publicly describing a cash shortage while Genera asks for a specific sum to be set aside for emergencies.

A separate dispute centers on the ADSEF contract controversy. Senate President Rivera Schatz asked the Justice Department and the Office of Inspector General to investigate allegations made by the ousted ADSEF head, who claimed there was undue pressure to award contracts. The referral concerns a $38 million ADSEF contract. The Justice Department now has 15 working days to evaluate it and determine the next steps. Until that review is complete, the allegations remain allegations, and the department’s decision on whether to proceed is still pending.

On the roads, the Highway Authority announced that AutoExpreso fines will be reactivated on October 19. Drivers who use the toll system are affected, since the fines come back into force on that date. The announcement fixes a specific day, which gives people a deadline to have their accounts in order.

The governor announced a $20.5 million allocation for special education transportation. The Oversight Board authorized the money to cover those transportation services, so the funding now exists for that purpose.

Several items remain open. The Justice Department’s 15-working-day window on the ADSEF referral is still running. LUMA’s liquidity warning and Genera’s $30 million reserve request have no stated outcome. The higher electric bills are confirmed to begin tomorrow, and AutoExpreso fines are set to return on October 19.