PREPA director admits entity lacks resources to manage T&D if LUMA contract is canceled

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Executive Director Mary Carmen Zapata

By The Star Staff

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Executive Director Mary Carmen Zapata stated in a radio interview Wednesday that if the LUMA Energy contract were canceled today, PREPA would not have the necessary resources to manage energy transmission and distribution (T&D).

Over the past four years, LUMA Energy has been the private operator of PREPA’s T&D system and is in charge of collecting rates from clients.

“Right now, we don’t have the resources,” she said. “I understand that the governor has all the cards on the table. She, along with the energy czar, is evaluating all options. If canceling the contract were a viable option, they would certainly allocate the resources needed to fulfill that mission.”

Zapata said PREPA is working to regain control over the finances and administrative services that were transferred to LUMA during the energy system transition.

“Among the services that were agreed upon were all of the authority’s financial functions, including payments to suppliers, administration of databases and financial data, and management of transfers between bank accounts,” she noted. “It has been over a year since the Authority began implementing a computerized financial system and other administrative processes to resume these functions and finalize the agreement between LUMA and the Authority.”

Zapata, an engineer, asserted firmly that PREPA would be able to meet energy demands during the upcoming hot summer months.

The energy czar acknowledged separately that there was an insufficiency of energy reserves.

“We currently have 3,300 megawatts of available capacity, thanks to the efforts made by the energy czar to bring online Unit 5 at Costa Sur and the combustion unit of Unit 6 at San Juan,” Zapata said. “In June, Unit 2 at Aguirre is expected to come online, adding about 400 megawatts. Additionally, in July, Steam Unit 4 at Palo Seco should come online, contributing another 200 megawatts. This will bring our total capacity to approximately 3,800 megawatts.”