The possibility of another interruption in natural gas supply keeps concerns open about electricity generation costs in Puerto Rico. The Financial Oversight Board demanded that New Fortress Energy comply with contract provisions that would allow turning to alternate suppliers when the company cannot guarantee fuel. Representative José Aponte Hernández warned the situation could repeat and force power plants to use diesel again, a costlier fuel.
He said the ship Amour River has a capacity of about 150,000 cubic meters of gas but brought roughly 50,000, about 34 to 35% of its capacity. According to a company representative, about 4,000 cubic meters are consumed per day. Since the ship arrived the Tuesday of last week and began unloading, Aponte projected the gas would last roughly 12 to 14 days, potentially running out Sunday or Monday, or Wednesday of the following week at the latest.
He noted the other ship that supplies Puerto Rico is not yet in Altamira, Mexico loading, and loading takes two days once it arrives. Aponte said New Fortress could be saying it has no gas as early as next week, and that the Board is anticipating this. The warning follows a recent supply interruption that caused additional costs estimated at $32 million for diesel use.
Attention now centers on efforts to allow other suppliers to enter and keep commercial disputes from hitting customers’ pockets.