Lawmakers explore stripping P3A of supervision of temporary generation procurement
By THE STAR STAFF
Puerto Rico lawmakers are weighing a major change in how the island procures temporary generation capacity, aiming to remove the Independent Third-Party Procurement Office (3PPO) from the process and transfer contracting authority directly to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB).
Meanwhile, the PREB had ordered grid operator LUMA Energy on Aug. 20 to produce, within 10 days, an updated assessment of how much temporary generation the island still needs, a question the regulator says can no longer be answered by studies written before this month’s collapse of the Power Expectations contract. That deadline should expire today.
Rep. Víctor Parés Otero, chair of the House Government Committee, said Sunday that the Legislature is reviewing amendments to Regulation 8815, the rule that governs energy procurement, to allow the PREB to directly adjudicate contracts for the 800 megawatts of temporary generation the system urgently needs. That responsibility fell under the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority (P3A), which hired 3PPO to conduct the procurement.
Parés Otero argued that the PREB already has the legal authority to carry out the procurements and that recent controversies involving the 3PPO, including the cancellation of the Power Expectations contract amid allegations of fraud, demonstrate the need for a different approach.
“Puerto Rico needs 800 megawatts of temporary generation to avoid load shedding and provide maintenance for generating units,” Parés Otero said in written remarks. “We know there are companies interested in providing that generation, and those processes do not need to go through 3PPO. The Energy Bureau has the legal capacity to make those contracts, which is why our team is reviewing the parameters of Regulation 8815 to acquire that energy now.”
The lawmaker added that the Legislature’s Office of Budget Analysis (OPAL) will be included in any dissemination of information related to energy purchases, citing OPAL’s technical capacity to conduct economic, technical and actuarial evaluations.
Regulation 8815, approved in November 2016, outlines the rules for acquiring, evaluating, negotiating and awarding contracts for energy purchases -- including temporary generation. Parés Otero said the rule provides a viable pathway for the PREB to take the lead in contracting the emergency generation needed to stabilize the grid.
“Given what happened with 3PPO and the Power Expectations contract, that model is not viable,” he said. “However, it can be done through Regulation 8815, giving the Energy Bureau the lead in this transaction. That’s where we’re headed.”
The push comes as Puerto Rico continues to face reliability challenges and as regulators press LUMA, legacy power plants operator Genera PR, and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to provide firm timelines and reconciled data on the status of temporary generation contracts. Recent PREB orders have emphasized the need for clear deadlines, consolidated critical-path schedules, and detailed reporting on pending approvals, interconnection requirements, and operational readiness across all emergency generation initiatives.
