Denis Márquez Lebrón, the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) spokesman in Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives, announced a measure to cancel all Puerto Rico government contracts with New Fortress Energy (NFE) and its subsidiaries and begin an orderly transition to replace that contractual relationship. House Joint Resolution 427 would order the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, the Public-Private Partnerships Authority and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA (AEE), PREPA) to terminate their respective contracts with NFEnergía LLC.
Márquez Lebrón said the promised savings on the electric bill never materialized after control of the dock was handed to NFEnergía to build the only gas terminal in northern Puerto Rico, alongside the conversion of generating plants to gas and the gas supply contract. He said Puerto Ricans are instead paying the most expensive light bill in history because of the control and monopoly over gas supply and vital infrastructure ceded to a private company in bankruptcy that controls 60 percent of the island’s generation system.
He cited NFE’s failures to deliver contracted gas, the extra costs PREPA has had to absorb to buy diesel, and controversies over the operation of the San Juan Bay gas terminal. He said business groups estimate high energy costs caused thousands of businesses to close and tens of thousands of job losses, and that the crisis affects hospitals, health centers and condominium maintenance costs. The measure also calls for protecting San Juan Bay’s strategic infrastructure.