Puerto Rico’s government is not currently considering using the Emergency Fund to ease the impact of rising electricity costs, said Jean Peña Payano, La Fortaleza’s secretary of Public Affairs, on Tuesday. He said Governor Jenniffer González has not ruled out any alternative. "At the moment, touching the Emergency Fund has not been contemplated," he said, adding he was not saying it would never be done.
He noted the reserve fund requires Oversight Board authorization and perhaps should be kept for emergencies. He was responding to proposals by the Senate president and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) Senate delegation to use emergency funds to relieve families and businesses. Peña Payano acknowledged that a 40, 60, 100 or 200 percent rise in the light bill is an emergency for a low-income person, but said officials must weigh whether larger emergencies could arise.
The administration is also evaluating suspending the sales and use tax (IVU) on prepared foods. On Friday the governor asked the Oversight Board to validate an IVU exemption at restaurants and food establishments during November and December. If approved, it would last two months.
Peña Payano said he lacked information on the request’s status with the Board and the Treasury Department (Hacienda), calling it not the solution but one mechanism among others. He also cited the C-PACE financing mechanism for solar and energy-storage systems, and Economic Development and Commerce Department (DDEC) programs. DDEC chief economist José Luis Rivera Rivera described support for merchants installing solar panels and a federal weatherization program to replace high-consumption equipment in eligible homes, but lacked current application figures.