LUMA urged to withdraw rate increase request

Rep. Víctor Parés Otero

By The Star Staff

The chairman of the Government Committee in the island House of Representatives demanded on Sunday that the LUMA Energy board of directors withdraw its request to raise the price of a kilowatt-hour to consumers by 2.76 cents.

San Juan District 4 Rep. Víctor Parés Otero also called on the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau to once again reject the request made by the private operator of the island’s electrical transmission and distribution network.

“I urge Luma Energy to stop insisting on such an absurd increase of 2.76 cents per kilowatt-hour,” the lawmaker said. “Every time they insist on something that was already rejected, they inflict anguish on the people, considering we’re already entering the Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to Nov. 30). LUMA cannot expect the public to pay for its administrative inefficiencies. LUMA is obligated to pay a whopping $9.085,390 billion in federal funds, but has only requested reimbursement for $284 million. This demonstrates a complete lack of fiscal responsibility and is the reason why they need the money. That’s not the fault of the people of Puerto Rico, it’s LUMA’s.”

LUMA Energy reported it needs an additional $322 million above the budgeted amount, equivalent to $692.6 million, for projects not covered by funds allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The New Progressive Party legislator also noted that the price of fuels, including Bunker C and diesel, used for electricity generation have dropped dramatically, reaching pre-pandemic levels seen in January 2020.