Governor Jenniffer González Colón announced that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE) will sue NFEnergía LLC (NFE), a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy Inc., after the company stopped supplying natural gas to Units 5 and 6 of the San Juan power plant on September 16. Since then, those units have run on diesel, a costlier fuel, which could raise electricity costs for consumers if it continues.
On September 22, AEE activated a contract provision allowing it to seek natural gas from an alternate supplier using NFE's San Juan terminal, but NFE refused to comply. González Colón said the contract requires NFE to open its terminal to Genera when it cannot supply gas itself, but NFE has refused. AEE, through the Public-Private Partnerships Authority and the Third-Party Procurement Office, will file suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, demanding NFE confirm in writing that its terminal is available for an alternate supplier, designate a representative to handle the process, provide protocols for receiving vessels, refrain from blocking gas delivery, and negotiate in good faith with the proposed alternate supplier.