Energy czar Josué Colón Ortiz, who also serves as executive director of the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP), defended his actions in the Power Expectations contracting process and said he did not take part in the negotiations or in awarding the contract. His statements came after the House of Representatives Government Committee released a partial report on House Resolution 42, which examines the process related to contracting power generation.
"The AAPP and the Energy czar did not administer the competitive procedure, did not evaluate proposals, did not select proponents nor award the Power Expectations contract, nor did they evaluate or approve the substitution of one of the consortium's members," Colón Ortiz said.
In written statements, Colón Ortiz said the report itself acknowledges that the competitive process originated in a resolution and order from the Energy Bureau, and that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA; AEE in Spanish) was the entity responsible for the contracting. He also said the document found no evidence that he participated in negotiation meetings or communicated with lobbyists connected to the process.
"The AAPP and the Energy czar did not administer the competitive procedure, did not evaluate proposals, did not select proponents nor award the Power Expectations contract, nor did they evaluate or approve the substitution of one of the consortium’s members," Colón Ortiz said. According to the official, those responsibilities belonged to the process’s independent administrator, 3PPO, and to PREPA as the contracting entity.
He distinguished following government public policy on the energy emergency from improperly directing or intervening in a contracting process, said documentation and testimony before the committee back that distinction, and reiterated his willingness to cooperate with the investigations.