Regulator files rules for municipal participation in public lighting repairs

Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez

By THE STAR STAFF

Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez announced on Tuesday that the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) filed Regulation No. 9774, better known as the “Regulation for the Authorization, Supervision and Regulation of Municipal Participation in Public Lighting Connected to the Electrical System.”

The regulation was filed with the island Department of State on Monday.

“This is a historic step for the reconstruction, modernization, and maintenance of the lighting infrastructure on our streets and highways,” said the House speaker, who made the announcement along with House Government Committee Chairman Víctor Parés Otero. “This regulation enables municipalities to carry out replacement and maintenance work on streetlights, recognizing the role that local governments can play in coordinated electrical work.”

Section 2.4 (Coordination between Municipalities and the System Operator) of the regulation establishes that municipalities participating in work related to public lighting systems connected to the electrical grid must coordinate these activities with the system operator in accordance with the procedures established in the regulations. The coordination will include, among other aspects: the planning and scheduling of work related to lighting fixtures, authorization of interventions in infrastructure connected to the electrical grid, according to the classification of work established in the regulations, coordination of work that may require temporary interruptions of electrical service or intervention in distribution circuits, and compliance with applicable technical and safety standards.

“Today, history is being made in Puerto Rico with the filing of this regulation,” added Parés, who represents San Juan District 4. “We thank the president of the Energy Bureau, Edison Avilés, for his efforts in developing and filing this document, which we requested last December (2025) given the reality that many of our streets and highways are still dark, almost nine years after Hurricane Maria.”

Among the advanced steps in the new regulations is Section 4.1 (Nature of Municipal Public Lighting Agreements), which establishes that “agreements entered into between municipalities and the system operator related to repair, maintenance, installation, or modernization work on public lighting systems connected to the electrical system will be considered operational collaboration agreements subject to the supervision of the Energy Bureau. Such agreements will have the purpose of allowing municipal participation in certain activities related to public lighting, provided that such activities are carried out in a manner compatible with the safe and reliable operation of the electrical system.”

The regulation also classifies public lighting systems among systems integrated into the transmission and distribution network, special systems not transferred to the electrical system, autonomous or independent public lighting systems, and intelligent lighting systems.