Energy Bureau overhauls power grid reporting, expands performance metrics.

The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau told Genera PR to report equivalent availability factor, or EAF, metrics -- an indicator of how often power plants are ready for service -- for both baseload and peaking units. (Facebook via Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica)

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) has announced major changes to how the island’s private electrical grid operators report on performance, safety and reliability to better match reporting with the incentive structures in power generation contracts.

In a recent Resolution and Order, the PREB made three key changes to quarterly reporting templates used by LUMA Energy, the private operator of the transmission and distribution system, and Genera PR, the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s power plants. The PREB added new metrics, required submission of historical data dating to Genera’s 2023 takeover, and mandated more detailed reliability information documenting customer outages.

PREB officials said the updated framework is designed to strengthen oversight, ensure accountability, and provide clearer insights into system performance as restructuring efforts continue.

A central element is the alignment of Genera’s reports with the incentive metrics in its Operation and Maintenance Agreement, under which Genera earns financial incentives. The order specifically links Genera’s reporting to incentive payments, emphasizing the importance of meeting those targets.

The PREB told Genera to report equivalent availability factor, or EAF, metrics -- an indicator of how often power plants are ready for service -- for both baseload and peaking units. This measure is used to determine incentive payments. Genera already tracks plant availability. The PREB said aligning reporting definitions with the agreement enables regulators to directly assess whether incentive targets are met.

Key changes include expanding safety reporting beyond Occupational Safety and Health Administration rates to include raw incident counts -- such as lost-time incidents, recordable injuries, and fatalities or severe injuries. The incentive structure has shifted to count incidents rather than rates, prompting the PREB to require monthly reporting of those counts.

The order adds a new “Operation Cost Efficiency” metric, which tracks spending as a percentage of the approved operating budget. The metric mirrors the incentive calculation in Genera’s contract. It includes operating expenses, maintenance, and contributions to the generation maintenance reserve fund.

The PREB further directed Genera to report newly required items: consent decree violations, environmental notices of violation, compliance failures, decommissioning cost-efficiency, and fuel-optimization savings tied to approved initiatives. Notably, supporting workpapers must now accompany several of these key metrics.

Genera must submit historical monthly data from July 2023 for all new metrics and those with changed methodologies.

Meanwhile, LUMA Energy’s customer reliability metrics are expanding. The new requirements aim to better capture customer experiences and highlight areas of concern.

While LUMA currently reports standard reliability indices -- SAIDI and SAIFI -- excluding major event days, the PREB determined that additional metrics are needed for transparency.

Under the new requirements, key changes include LUMA’s obligation to report generation-related load-shedding events, such as outages from generation shortfalls or unit performance issues. Additionally, LUMA must now provide updated versions of SAIDI and SAIFI that specifically isolate generation-driven interruptions and incorporate previously excluded events.

The key changes are: the new “unnormalized” and “all-in” system metrics now capture a wider range of outages -- including major storms, planned outages, and momentary interruptions. Regulators stated that by expanding these metrics, policymakers and the public will gain a more complete understanding of the reliability challenges faced on the island.

LUMA must begin reporting these new reliability metrics in its next quarterly filing, providing retroactive data for all previous months in fiscal year 2026.

The PREB approved key template changes requested by LUMA: The Circo One Salinas solar facility will now appear as its own subgroup in the section tracking renewable energy production, and advanced metering infrastructure, or AMI, reporting -- which monitors smart electricity meters -- will expand to include all municipalities.

The PREB now requires the quarterly reporting template to be split into two files: one for transmission and distribution data, and another for generation metrics. Additionally, starting in the current fiscal year 2026, Genera will submit its third-quarter performance data separately from LUMA’s.

Both companies must also complete methodology disclosures for all new metrics. Key changes include the requirement to detail data sources, calculations and assumptions, as well as to verify the accuracy of both English and Spanish definitions.