Puerto Rico’s Energy Bureau (NE), the island’s energy regulator, denied a request by NFEnergía LLC for a hearing to discuss the bureau’s orders, which the company used to justify leaving the island without liquefied gas for power generation until Tuesday, October 13. NFEnergía is the subsidiary of New Fortress Energy (NFE) that holds the multiyear contract to supply gas for nearly all of the island’s electricity generation.
For reasons attributable to the company itself, gas went unsupplied for almost a month, forcing some units at Palo Seco and San Juan to burn diesel at an extra cost of about $1.6 million that customers risk paying from January. When the AMUR River ship finally dispatched gas on Tuesday, hours before a court hearing in which the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA (AEE), or PREPA) sought to force NFE to allow an alternate supplier to deliver gas, the vessel carried only 60% of its cargo because of dock draft limits.
During the month, the ship traveled to the Dominican Republic, supposedly to restock supplies. NFE’s last objection was to the NE’s September 30 order requiring an audit of invoices under the contract and instructing PREPA to defer a payment of nearly $18 million. At least $74.5 million in payments to NFE since January 2025 could be under regulatory review.
Genera PR executives had told the bureau that all invoices were paid. In a Thursday resolution, the NE said that participating as a guest in a technical conference is not a way to obtain remedies on contractual disputes, and that NFE would have to file a complaint and submit to its adjudication process. Through at least December, NFE ships rotate every three weeks.