The average cost of electricity in Puerto Rico rose 37 percent between fiscal years 2021 and 2026, compared with a 30 percent increase in the United States, according to an analysis released by the Center for Development Studies (CED) at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus. CED director José Caraballo Cueto said that five years after LUMA took over, Puerto Rico’s energy cost rose seven percentage points more than the US figure, so the increase cannot be blamed only on fuel costs.
In fiscal year 2021, the 12 months before LUMA Energy became operator of the transmission and distribution system, the average cost was 19.63 cents per kilowatt-hour in Puerto Rico and 10.78 cents in the US. By fiscal year 2026, it reached 26.9 cents in Puerto Rico and 14.04 cents in the US. The analysis used US Energy Information Administration data covering July 2020 to June 2021 and July 2025 to June 2026.
Caraballo Cueto said averages were used because Puerto Rico saw large monthly swings not observed in the US. The study also found greater price volatility in Puerto Rico. On service quality, the CED reviewed Puerto Rico Energy Bureau metrics, finding that the SAIDI index, which measures average outage duration per customer, rose 9 percent between fiscal years 2022 and 2026.
Caraballo Cueto concluded that energy in Puerto Rico is more expensive, more volatile and of lower quality than in the US, and that the grid concession to LUMA did not lower costs. Caraballo Cueto is a professor at the UPR business school.