Lawmakers demand answers as more than 500,000 remain without power in Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding answers today as more than 500,000 Americans in Puerto Rico remain without power more than one week after Hurricane Fiona made landfall there.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations panel, along with Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), sent a letter Tuesday to the head of LUMA Energy, the company responsible for operating Puerto Rico’s power grid, to express their deep concern over the island’s ongoing power outages and demanded to know what’s being done to restore power there immediately.
In writing to LUMA Energy President and CEO Wayne Stensby, the lawmakers said they wanted to know, among other things, “why the company had not adequately prepared the island’s energy infrastructure to withstand a Category One hurricane.”
They also pointed out that their concerns with the company’s ability to develop and maintain the island’s power grid started well before Hurricane Fiona hit and that the ongoing outages only “amplify concerns” that LUMA has failed to adequately maintain the island’s electrical infrastructure.
Despite being “richly compensated,” the lawmakers noted, the company – which became Puerto Rico’s sole supplier of electricity in June 2021 – has failed to provide Puerto Ricans with the reliable and affordable energy they deserve.
“Since LUMA assumed control of the grid in 2021, Puerto Ricans have reported recurring power surges that have interfered with critical medical care, disrupted access to education, and destroyed property,” the lawmakers wrote. “The collapse of the electric grid in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona is just the latest example of such failures.”
The lawmakers demanded that company officials provide the committee answers to a series of questions regarding the steps LUMA has taken to improve and protect Puerto Rico’s power grid since taking control, including:
- How much funding LUMA has received through its contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority;
- What reliability benchmarks the company is obliged to achieve, and the progress LUMA has made toward each;
- What preparations LUMA made to protect Puerto Rico’s power grid in advance of Hurricane Fiona;
- When LUMA anticipates that customers will have their power restored; and
- What, if anything, LUMA is doing to improve the grid’s performance going forward.
The lawmakers requested the information be provided to the committee by Oct. 11, 2022, and that company representatives provide them a briefing on the progress being made to restore power to the island no later than Oct. 14.
Full text of the letter is available HERE.