By The Star Staff
Vivian Godineaux Villaronga, the new president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, announced on Monday the creation of a Special Commission for the Legal Evaluation of the LUMA Energy and Genera PR contracts.
LUMA Energy is the private operator of the island’s electric power transmission and distribution system, while Genera PR is the private operator of Puerto Rico’s legacy power plant fleet.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that essential services are administered fairly and efficiently,” Godineaux Villaronga said in a written statement regarding the project, her first assuming her new post.
The commission, made up of experienced contract lawyers, will evaluate the agreements from consumer rights and legality perspectives. It will also formulate proposals to improve public energy policy.
The team will deliver an initial report with legal recommendations on possible legal actions for service deficiencies, including the potential cancellation of contracts. The president invited other professional associations to join in similar initiatives.
Several candidates, such as Popular Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Jesús Manuel Ortiz González and Juan Dalmau Ramírez, the candidate for governor under the Puerto Rican Independence Party-Citizen Victory Movement Alliance, have called for the cancellation of the LUMA Energy contract because of deficiencies in service.
However, the estimated cost of canceling LUMA’s contract is between $300 million and $600 million.
The public-private partnership contract with LUMA Energy, as well as the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, the regulator of the island’s energy sector, have mechanisms to penalize LUMA if it fails to meet its responsibilities, but nothing has been done yet.
The Financial Oversight and Management Board has the final say on canceling the aforementioned contracts.
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