Puerto Rico's governor changes course, lashes out against energy consortium amid blackouts

Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Pierluisi publicly lashed out against private company Luma Energy, which has a contract for power transmission and distribution, after a surge of recent power outages and stirring unrest in the U.S. protectorate.

The governor’s comments mark the first time he has publicly denounced the energy consortium amid protests and social media outcries calling for the government to cancel its 15-year contract, which started in June 2021. The consortium consists of Quanta Services Inc. of Houston and Calgary, Alberta-based Atco.

“I am not satisfied with the performance of Luma,” the governor announced. “It is obvious to me that you have to make changes to your execution plan to significantly improve the service you are offering our people.”

Pierluisi’s comments came as a surprise to many since he formerly supported the contract and defended  the company’s efforts. The consortium’s spokesperson, Eliezer Soto, said the company would respond soon to address the ongoing power outages that have been effecting an estimated 1.5 million customers.

News reports indicate that the outages have increasingly grown worse, forcing some businesses to close while others have tried to run generators on fuel, which is costly on the Caribbean island.

The consortium and Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority have attributed the blackouts to bad weather, lack of maintenance and deteriorating infrastructure that has continued to decline since Hurricane Maria struck the island’s power grid in September 2017.

Pierluisi said those problems should have been addressed by Luma.

“Although I recognize that the electrical network we have is fragile and obsolete, it is Luma’s responsibility to operate it under the critical and emergency state in which it finds itself,” he argued.

Among the problems being highlighted are significant rate increases and fires at power substations, which Puerto Ricans have captured on video and promoted on social media.

“There is no governmental action to address these problems,” Puerto Rican Senator and opposition party leader José Luis Dalmau said. “It’s unacceptable that in the face of this chaos, the governor is alienated from the reality that people are experiencing.”

As a result of the political fallout, the island’s Energy Bureau announced it would conduct an investigation into the outages, pinpointing one on Wednesday that resulted in a 25% overall energy loss, impacting a quarter million residents.  

“To the extent that LUMA and the (Power) Authority fail, and they argue over who is to blame, it will be up to us... to assign responsibilities and demand improvements,” the Bureau announced.

Some media reports indicated that residents are becoming increasingly concerned about the prospect of losing energy just before the 2022 hurricane season, which notoriously leads to blackouts.