Lawmaker: NFE & Genera to blame for blackout that left 120,000 customers in dark

Rep. José Aponte Hernández said Monday’s “’load shift,’ which is nothing more than a blackout, was a direct result of irresponsible business practices contrary to the best interests of the people of Puerto Rico on the part of NFE and its subsidiary, Genera.”

By THE STAR STAFF

Rep. José Aponte Hernández blamed New Fortress Energy (NFE) and Genera Puerto Rico for Monday’s blackout, which left more than 120,000 customers without power for more than four hours.

Aponte, who chairs the House Committee on Federal and Veterans Affairs, has not ruled out sending a communication to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to inform him of this situation.

“Yesterday’s ‘load shift,’ which is nothing more than a blackout, was a direct result of irresponsible business practices contrary to the best interests of the people of Puerto Rico on the part of NFE and its subsidiary, Genera,” Aponte said. “NFE does not want to use 80-ton tugboats, which are appropriate for safety reasons, to bring the liquefied natural gas (LNG) barge into San Juan Bay, and in an attempt to blackmail the government into allowing the use of smaller-capacity tugboats, which are cheaper but much more unsafe for this type of operation, they did not bring that ship into the port over the weekend, thus leaving the island without fuel for generating units at the San Juan and Palo Seco power plants.”

“NFE is taking advantage of the people’s needs to blackmail the government into lowering safety standards because the LNG barge is urgently needed,” the former House speaker added. “This is a deplorable act, similar to what they did a few months ago when, upon bringing a barge to port, they gave instructions to remove it, trying to get a few more pesos. This action is not only irresponsible, but also goes against national security.”

Aponte asserted that “[t]rying to blame the tugboat pilots for this is a lie.”

“The only person responsible for not having enough generation yesterday is NFE and its subsidiary, Genera,” he said. “That’s the truth.”