Bayamón mayor says ‘everyone failed’ in Power Expectations process
By THE STAR STAFF
Bayamón Mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Cruz stated on Tuesday that “everyone failed” in the Power Expectations contracting process -- including the Financial Oversight and Management Board -- and questioned how the contracting for temporary power generation was structured from the start.
“This whole process has come as a surprise to me,” Rivera Cruz said at a press conference. “How is it possible to hold an auction where you ask the market for a bid, yet tell the provider: ‘I’m not going to pay you absolutely anything to move your equipment -- to bring it to Puerto Rico’ -- meaning loading it onto a ship (which costs money), transporting it to Puerto Rico, handling the subsequent ground transport and installation, and perhaps keeping staff on hand, all just so that -- if and when the Government of Puerto Rico decides to buy the power -- I can then sell that energy?”
The mayor said the model should have raised questions from the very beginning.
“I cannot understand that, and that is where everyone failed -- including the Fiscal Oversight Board [sic] -- because the Board saw this,” he said. “How is it possible that the Fiscal Oversight Board, with all the technical staff and experts they have, couldn’t raise that question?”
Rivera Cruz compared the situation to contracting trucks to handle an emergency, noting that no reasonable provider would keep equipment on standby without receiving compensation.
“No one -- no one in their right mind, at least from my perspective -- can understand someone being willing to do that without charging a single cent,” he said. “So, from the very start, from the get-go, it was poorly planned and poorly executed.”
The mayor stated that any potential criminal or ethical misconduct should be left to investigative agencies.
“If there was anything improper or wrong -- whether criminal or ethical in nature -- the relevant investigative agencies will handle it,” he said.
Rivera Cruz argued that the government must now focus on ensuring generation capacity for periods of peak demand.
“We already know what happened; what are we going to do now? We can keep talking about ‘Power Expectations’ -- we can keep getting distracted by that,” he said. “No, no, no. What are we going to do now to ensure we have the energy capacity to meet demand during peak periods?”
“I believe it is time to start taking steps to find alternatives rather than waiting until next summer. That is my public stance,” the mayor added. “What are we going to do? Let’s get to work. Was a mistake made? What are we going to do about it?”
When asked about the testimony of the former executive director of the Electric Power Authority (PREPA), Mary Carmen Zapata Acosta, Rivera Cruz reiterated his view that there were failures at various stages of the process.
“I think everyone involved in the process failed,” he said. “I wouldn’t sign off on it; I wouldn’t have signed it.”
The mayor added that if Zapata Acosta felt she was not receiving the information necessary to perform her duties, she should have acted sooner.
“If I see a lack of communication -- and assuming what she says is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it, right? -- if that is the case, why didn’t she leave sooner? Why didn’t she raise a red flag earlier?” he asked.
When asked whether Energy Czar Josué Colón Ortiz retained the credibility needed to remain in his post, Rivera Cruz declined to make a recommendation.
“That is a decision for others to make; I imagine the governor and her team will determine the appropriate long-term action plan,” he stated.
The mayor insisted that the priority must be to create alternatives to replace generating units that require maintenance or suffer breakdowns.
“I would focus on two things: finding alternatives to replace any power plant that needs maintenance or breaks down, and -- secondly -- focusing on major infrastructure projects for water, electricity, roads, and communications,” Rivera Cruz said.
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