Puerto Rico Morning Brief Tuesday, October 20, 2026

LUMA Energy told the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau that fuel burned for power generation in September cost $223 million, while the fuel adjustment clause paid by customers raised only $168.7 million. That left a $54.4 million deficit. Tariffs of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) allow an accelerated adjustment when fuel and purchased-power costs deviate more than $20 million from projections in a monthly billing cycle. If the bureau orders it, the clause factors could be recalculated for the rest of the quarter. LUMA did not expressly request the accelerated adjustment.

General Fund revenue fell 3.3% from a year earlier, according to the Financial Oversight and Management Board. It totaled $9.3 billion, down $313 million, though 3.4% ($305 million) above the revised fiscal plan projection. The board said Puerto Rico’s economy showed signs of stagnation or slight contraction in the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, through March. The Planning Board estimated real gross national product would grow 0.4% in fiscal 2025 and projected the same for 2026, versus a 0.1% contraction in the 2024 Certified Fiscal Plan.

New Fortress Energy (NFE) missed its third House of Representatives summons on Monday, October 19, when it did not appear before the Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The committee is investigating the company’s use of the San Juan pier, among other matters. Committee chair José Hernández Concepción will subpoena NFE under threat of contempt. The hearing aimed to clarify why the vessel supplying natural gas stayed away from Puerto Rico for more than a month, forcing costlier fuels for power generation. Hernández Concepción said alternative fuels such as diesel would add $15 million to $16 million in expense, which could affect consumers’ electric bills.

Puerto Rico’s government is evaluating whether to cancel its natural gas supply contract with NFE over alleged patterns of contract breaches, it emerged at a public hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Osvaldo Carlo Linares, a lawyer and president of the Independent Procurement Office (3PPO), confirmed cancellation is among the options. The office also amended its federal court suit against NFE, raising its claim from nearly $55 million to $100 million for extra fuel costs.

The Financial Oversight and Management Board approved, with observations, Genera PR’s proposed fuel supply contract renewal with Novum Energy Trading Inc. The approval came in a letter dated October 16. The agreement runs three years and is valued at up to $2 billion. Novum will supply some 6 million barrels annually of No. 6 fuel oil to PREPA’s Aguirre, San Juan, Palo Seco and Costa Sur plants. Novum agreed to deliver the fuel through an alternative terminal arrangement that reduces reliance on Genera-controlled infrastructure and addresses concerns that had limited competition in Puerto Rico’s fuel procurement.

Puerto Rico’s Office of the Inspector General found that the Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA) carries a historical tax debt of $33,200,297.85. It also found another $3,319,551.33 in taxes withheld from employee wages in 2022, 2023 and 2024 that were never sent to the Treasury Department. A Treasury certification dated September 16, 2025, shows the historical debt includes $18,356,601.85 in principal and $14,843,696 in interest, surcharges and penalties. The evaluation produced four findings, covering payment of withheld wage taxes, federal payroll obligations, withholdings on payments for services rendered, and quarterly reports to the Department of Labor and Human Resources.