Guaynabo Mayor Edward O’Neill Rosa, drawing on 24 years at the former Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA (AEE); PREPA), including 20 as a line supervisor, assessed LUMA Energy and Genera PR nearly five years into the privatization of the electric system, speaking on Normando en la Mañana on NotiUno 630. He recalled a conversation with former PREPA executive director Ricardo Ramos, who argued generation should have been privatized rather than distribution: 'the generators are in pieces.'
O’Neill Rosa said he has no knowledge of a proactive plan for new plants, since his specialty was transmission and distribution. He offered a nuanced verdict: 'Don’t believe that Genera arrived and there will be an immediate notable improvement. We still have the same old, useless equipment,' though he conceded LUMA has done something in almost five years but still has much left to do.
He detailed a project for a new electrical substation in the Caimito sector: the transformer broke and caught fire, and FEMA funds are available; the town offered adjacent land in a swap, met with LUMA representatives, its legal team, and an official he identified as Doriel Pagán, and the project is in design phase. On hurricane María reconstruction funds, he said Guaynabo has 100% of funds obligated and never had problems with Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3) or FEMA.
He declared himself neutral in a potential PNP primary between the Senate president and the governor, saying the focus should be on federal funds several towns could lose before the December 31, 2028 deadline, and flatly ruled out heading the Mayors’ Federation.