Puerto Rico’s energy czar and the executive director of the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP), engineer Josué A. Colón Ortiz, laid out a list of alleged failures by LUMA Energy that he says justify the operator’s departure, as the island awaits a Puerto Rico Supreme Court decision on whether the extension of LUMA’s contract is void. "LUMA insists on selling its theory of chaos, making people believe that without them Puerto Rico’s electrical system would stop operating. That narrative does not respond to reality; Puerto Rico is much more than LUMA," Colón said.
LUMA insists on selling its theory of chaos, making people believe that without them Puerto Rico's electrical system would stop operating.
He said the legality of the amendment known as the Carta-Extensión is for the court to decide. Colón said Puerto Rico has about $11 billion in federal reconstruction funds for transmission and distribution infrastructure, while LUMA’s reimbursements reach only about 6% after six years. On vegetation management reported to Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3) and the federal Department of Energy (DOE) as of November 9, 2026, he said that of about 5,299.7 miles required under the FAASt program, LUMA had reported only 238 miles cleared, 4.49%.
He cited Energy Bureau statistics showing the SAIDI index rising from 88.2 minutes in 2012 to 1,243 in 2020 under PREPA (AEE), then 1,448 in 2024, 1,579 in 2025 and about 1,705 in 2026 under LUMA, and SAIFI from 0.58 in 2012 and 5.0 in 2020 to 7.90, 8.15 and about 7.98 in those years. He also questioned LUMA’s handling of customer billing complaints and mayors’ complaints about prolonged outages and street lighting.