Casa Pueblo rejects energy czar’s claim of ‘oversaturation,’ says solar is stabilizing fragile grid

Casa Pueblo disputes Energy Czar Josué Colón Ortiz’s assertion that the island’s electrical grid is “over‑saturated with renewable resources” that are directly tied to rising instability across the system. The organization insists that rooftop solar systems have injected more than 1,200 megawatts into the grid and helped shorten outages.

By THE STAR STAFF

Casa Pueblo issued a forceful public statement over the weekend, pushing back against Energy Czar Josué Colón Ortiz and accusing the government of using renewable energy as a scapegoat for chronic failures in Puerto Rico’s electrical system.

The remarks on social media were made after Colón Ortiz warned in a filing to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau on Aug. 14 and reported by the STAR, that the island’s electrical grid has reached a critical saturation point due to the explosive, largely unregulated growth of rooftop solar systems, arguing that the unchecked proliferation is destabilizing voltage, triggering load‑shedding events, and forcing legacy power plants into inefficient and costly operating patterns. 

The energy czar’s statements were delivered in a 20‑page filing titled “Comments on the Proposed Rules for Interconnection of Generation Facilities and Microgrids,” which was submitted to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau as part of the rulemaking process for a new interconnection regulation.

Colón Ortiz said the data shows a system pushed beyond its physical limits.

“More than 80% of the feeders where distributed generation has been developed exceed the 15% penetration limit,” he wrote, adding that 35% of feeders are now operating above 70% capacity. He described the grid as “over‑saturated with renewable resources,” a condition he argues is directly tied to rising instability across the transmission and distribution system.

Casa Pueblo called the argument misleading and politically convenient.

“What has come to give a certain stability to the system is precisely the distributed generation of solar origin,” the organization said, noting that rooftop systems have injected more than 1,200 megawatts into the grid and helped shorten outages. Casa Pueblo pointed out that even LUMA CEO Janisse Quiñones has acknowledged that net‑metering customers’ solar systems have reduced the duration of blackouts.

The group framed Colón Ortiz’s position as part of a broader pattern of government hostility toward renewable energy -- including recent discussions of a potential “impuesto al sol” connection fee and resistance to community‑based microgrid projects.

“They intend to make scapegoats of people who have turned to alternative sources to secure the quality of life that the state does not provide them,” Casa Pueblo said.

Colón Ortiz’s filing paints a different picture. He cited operational data showing that 94% of load‑shedding events caused by variable generation stem from rooftop solar systems, with each incident disconnecting between 130 and 140 megawatts. He also warned that older inverters installed before 2018 are automatically dropping offline during frequency dips, causing an additional sudden loss of roughly 100 megawatts -- “the equivalent of losing the San Juan 7 unit,” he noted.

Casa Pueblo countered that the real source of instability is the government’s failure to modernize the grid despite billions in federal reconstruction funds. 

“What has failed is the privatization of the generation, transmission and distribution of energy,” the group said, arguing that the state should be investing in upgrades that allow for more distributed solar rather than restricting it.

While Colón Ortiz is urging strict controls, mandatory studies, and the authority to curtail excess solar generation without compensation, Casa Pueblo insists that distributed solar has become an essential stabilizing force for households navigating Puerto Rico’s unreliable grid.