House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair José "Cheito" Hernández Concepción said on Normando en la Mañana that he will "fight" to keep the cost of burning diesel during the Amur River vessel standoff off consumers’ electric bills. He said that, as of that moment, 15 days of the quarter had passed in that scenario.
"The government isn't paying it, you and I pay it on the bill," he said.
"The government has to evaluate whether they are in breach so it can take them to court and cancel the contract," he said of New Fortress Energy (NFE), the company that operates the Amur River. Hernández Concepción said the committee and the House have intervened "as much as we could" to resolve the standoff, but "everyone has failed a little here," including the government, which he faulted for a lack of communication.
He said that by Thursday the 15th, 15 days of the third quarter would have been spent burning diesel at two of the highest-consumption power plants, costing $1 million a day, or about $15 million cumulatively. "The government isn’t paying it, you and I pay it on the bill," he said. On his bill to cut AutoExpreso administrative fines from $15 to $5, Hernández Concepción said it is ready in the Senate and that he would meet that day with Sen. Héctor Joaquín Sánchez, chair of the relevant committee.
He said the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) issued a fiscal impact report concluding the measure has no fiscal impact, and that if the Oversight Board disagrees it should file its own report explaining why, which has not happened. He noted that AutoExpreso fines are reactivated this week for drivers who cross a toll without enough balance.