By The Star Staff
Reps. Víctor Parés Otero and Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez asked the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) on Thursday to carry out, as a matter of urgency, a study on the impact of net metering on the promotion of the shift to renewable energy sources, particularly photovoltaic systems.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this [net metering] program is the reason behind the historic increase in the installation of solar energy systems in proportion to other jurisdictions in the nation,” Parés Otero said.
Méndez Nuñez added that the Financial Oversight and Management Board “rejected the Energy Bureau carrying out a net metering study before or in 2030, as established by Law 10-224. This is an attempt to perpetuate Puerto Rico’s reliance on the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.”
“The net metering program has been a success, promoting the switch to solar energy,” said the New Progressive Party (NPP) minority leader in the island House of Representatives. “This program is the reason why today about 3,500 systems are being installed every month. Increasing the fee, eliminating the net metering program, would not only put an end to this boom, but would also jeopardize thousands of jobs and small and medium-sized enterprises that have developed to meet the demand for this product.”
The NPP legislators chastised the oversight board for pushing for the elimination of Law 10-2024, which would render ineffective any increase in the electricity bill until 2030 for consumers in net metering.
Parés Otero reiterated his request to Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia to go to court to defend net metering, which if not implemented under Law 10, he said, consumers with renewable energy systems, particularly photovoltaic, will suffer a “devastating” blow.