Puerto Rico Morning Brief Tuesday, October 27, 2026

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) began repair work on Monday night, October 26, on the pipeline that carries water from the reservoir to the Fajardo filtration plant, leaving Fajardo, Ceiba and parts of Luquillo without water. A mechanical failure caused a joint to come loose in a curved section of the pipe. The AAA will replace the damaged parts with spares from its inventory and reinforce the affected section with concrete.

Puerto Rico’s government ruled out, for now, a water rationing plan for about 110,000 customers served by the La Plata reservoir. The lake has dropped nearly two meters in the past month and remains in severe drought. National Weather Service meteorologist Ernesto Rodríguez said the reservoir has fallen about 1.95 meters and loses 10 to 12 centimeters a day. He put the rainfall deficit at five to eight inches over two months. Carlos Pesquera said there is enough water for at least 30 days without service controls.

The Popular Democratic Party (PPD) delegation in the Puerto Rico Senate presented several proposals to ease the rise in electricity bills. They include using an emergency fund that, they say, holds $131.65 million. Senator Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz noted that the Energy Bureau approved an 18.5% increase, moving the rate from 28.57 to 33.85 cents per kilowatt-hour. Senate Project 1599 would amend the Emergency Fund Law to allow its use for quarterly fuel adjustments. Concurrent Resolution 22 urges Governor Jenniffer González to amend the energy emergency executive orders declared since March 2021.

The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP) ordered LUMA Energy to investigate whether the installation of smart meters caused unusual increases customers have reported on their electricity bills. In an October 24 letter to LUMA president Janisse Quiñones, AAPP executive director and energy czar Josué A. Colón Ortiz demanded a written report within five calendar days. In several cases, customers allege their bills rose by thousands of dollars from one period to the next with no matching rise in consumption.

Health Secretary Víctor Ramos and Carlos Santiago Rosario, executive director of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (ASES), told the Senate Government Committee on Monday, October 26, that they are confident their federal lobbying will secure adequate Medicaid funding. They said Vital plan beneficiaries will not be affected next year. Puerto Rico receives about $4.2 billion in federal funds this fiscal year under an extraordinary allocation in effect since 2023. Without it, the permanent statute provides a maximum of about $500 million, and the federal matching rate would fall from 76% to 55% on October 1, 2027, the so-called Medicaid cliff. Puerto Rico seeks a $4.815 billion Medicaid allocation for federal fiscal year 2028.

Representative Víctor Parés, chair of the Government Committee of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, said Monday, October 26, that he will refer Energy czar Josué Colón and lawyer Juan González Galarza to the Office of Government Ethics, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Inspector General. The referral is part of the investigation into the contract awarded to Power Expectations. The committee’s first report on the probe should be ready next week. It will cover the first three public hearings, which included testimony from Colón, Osvaldo Carlo and Mary Zapata, plus more than a gigabyte of documents submitted to the committee. The full House must approve the report.