Puerto Rico business groups warned that about 12,000 small and medium-sized businesses (PyMEs) could close because of high energy costs, and the president of the Centro Unido de Detallistas (CUD), Alan Taveras Sepúlveda, said the government’s proposals do not address the main problem. On Friday, Governor Jenniffer González Colón proposed a temporary exemption from the sales and use tax (IVU) on prepared food at restaurants and food establishments during November and December, to ease the impact of high energy costs.
The proposal was submitted to the Financial Oversight and Management Board (JSF); if approved, the Treasury Department (Hacienda) would carry it out, and until then the tax remains in force. Taveras Sepúlveda, who favors the measure, said it relieves consumers but does not cut businesses’ operating costs: restaurants will keep facing the same electricity bills.
He called the situation an "economic catastrophe" and estimated bankruptcy filings by businesses could reach 7,000 this year. Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce president José "Che" Aparicio backed the measure, saying it seeks to cushion operating burdens. Restaurant Association (ASORE) president Sonia Navarro González said the group had requested it since February and urged the Board to decide quickly.
The governor also identified $3 million from the Economic Development Department (DDEC) to help 1,000 PyMEs with electricity costs and efficiency. Fortaleza Public Affairs secretary Jean Peña Payano said on Sunday the IVU measure "is one of many." Separately, LUMA Energy reported a $54.4 million September fuel-cost deficit to the Energy Bureau, which could lead to a new rate adjustment.