PREB orders PREPA to complete accelerated battery energy storage addition program

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) has issued a Resolution and Order directing the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to complete the required review process with the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) regarding the four final agreements of the Accelerated Battery Energy Storage Addition Program (ASAP).

PREB determined that the terms of these agreements, submitted by LUMA, are consistent with the island’s Energy Public Policy and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Consequently, the Bureau approved the four drafts and instructed LUMA to finalize the contracts, present them to PREPA’s Governing Board for approval, and provide evidence of this process. Additionally, PREPA was ordered to seek approval from the FOMB.

The Resolution and Order cautioned, “PREPA is advised not to execute the contracts until it obtains approval from the Oversight Board, as they could be declared null and void without such approval.”

On Thursday, November 20, LUMA provided evidence that it had submitted the final agreements to PREPA’s Board. The private operator requested that these documents be treated as confidential, citing the presence of critical energy infrastructure information, commercially sensitive data, and personal information. In response, the Bureau confirmed that LUMA had complied with the regulatory order and granted confidentiality to the sensitive information.

The Bureau also clarified the integration scope of battery energy storage within the Integrated Resource Plan, stating that the 1,500 megawatts (MW) of storage included in the plan serves as a guideline rather than an absolute limit. The Resolution and Order specified that the Bureau has not set the 1,500 MW figure as a fixed cap that cannot be exceeded; battery projects in the procurement process will be evaluated even if they propose to exceed this amount. Furthermore, the Bureau emphasized that “the determination of whether to adjust the 1,500 MW figure upward or downward rests exclusively with the Bureau.”

Commissioner Lillian Mateo Santos issued a dissenting vote regarding the ASAP program contracts, though she concurred with the Bureau’s determination concerning battery storage integration, affirming that the approximately 1,500 MW in the IRP is a guideline rather than a strict limit.