Lawmakers press New Fortress over diesel costs

Clinical laboratory representatives are working to strengthen Puerto Rico’s role in federal health policy and advocate for long-term reforms to Medicaid funding and laboratory reimbursement.

By THE STAR STAFF

Former House Speaker José Aponte called on New Fortress Energy (NFE) to immediately reimburse Puerto Rico for the diesel fuel that power plants have been forced to burn over the past week amid a stalled delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

The switch to diesel — significantly more expensive than LNG — has affected generating units in San Juan and Palo Seco, as well as emergency generators across the system.

Currently, an NFE vessel, the Amur River, is on standby miles at sea because of a dispute with the San Juan Bay Pilots. 

Aponte said both NFE and Genera Puerto Rico bear responsibility for the interruption in LNG supply, arguing that the companies knowingly attempted to use the Amur River, a vessel that does not meet berth requirements for navigating the San Juan Bay channels, something NFE denies. 

“Since last week, the San Juan and Palo Seco plants have been using diesel instead of natural gas. That fuel is much more expensive,” Aponte said. “The reason we will end up paying more on our electric bills is because NFE, fully aware that they could not use a vessel like the Amur River, still tried to use it to move LNG into the bay.”

He added that coordinating LNG shipments on a vessel of that size “does not happen overnight — it takes months,” and accused NFE of withholding information and attempting to “force a crisis” to pressure regulators into allowing unauthorized ships.

According to Aponte, navigating such vessels through San Juan Bay would pose a security risk to the area that handles more than 85 percent of the goods entering Puerto Rico.

“We cannot allow late compliance to become an emergency for Puerto Rico,” he said. “Waiting until the last minute and then claiming that rejecting their request puts gas supply at risk places the government and the people in an unacceptable position.”

Aponte argued that Puerto Rico’s energy needs cannot be used as leverage to bypass regulatory requirements or safety protocols. “That kind of pressure cannot be accepted,” he said. “The increased cost of generation caused by their actions must be paid by NFE — not by the people.”