Representative Víctor Parés, chair of the House of Representatives’ Government Committee and representative for San Juan’s District #4, asked the Energy Bureau (NEPR) to reject any increase in the electricity rate that private grid operators Luma Energy, LLC or Genera Puerto Rico might request due to a $48 million deficit in the fuel-purchase budget. The shortfall, Parés said, stems from the disruption caused by problems with the 'Amur River' LNG delivery vessel of New Fortress Energy, and consumers should not be penalized for it.
"that increase will not go through."
He asked NEPR president engineer Edison Avilés to firmly reject any request by the operators to raise the rate: "that increase will not go through." Luma Energy, the private operator of the transmission and distribution grid, stated there is a $54.37 million deficit in the fuel-purchase budget, reduced by $6.35 million through a credit established by the Energy Bureau, leaving the $48 million shortfall.
Luma said covering the deficiency would require an increase of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, attributing the deficit to the use of diesel instead of liquefied natural gas to operate units 5 and 6 of the San Juan power plant and the Palo Seco plant. The suggested increase would come on top of the current rate structure of 33.86 cents per kilowatt-hour.