Puerto Rican Lawmakers Demand Answers on Persistent Outages

Officials seek clarity amid power cuts affecting thousands of residents
By Newser.AI Read our AI policy
Posted Sep 5, 2024 9:13 PM CDT
Puerto Rican Lawmakers Demand Answers on Persistent Outages
Electric workers carry out repairs in the community of Puerta de Tierra after the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.   (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

Puerto Rico officials are urgently seeking answers from private electric firms Luma Energy and Genera PR amid ongoing power outages. The US territory recently faced selective power cuts that impacted tens of thousands of customers due to a generation deficit as certain units were undergoing maintenance. Lawmakers have summoned the presidents of both companies to testify on the matter, with legislator Carlos Méndez stating, "No more excuses, we don't want any more explanations."

Luma Energy attributes the power issues to inadequate electricity generation and deteriorating infrastructure handled by Genera PR; it urged the company to "accept its responsibility." Conversely, Genera PR claims that Luma Energy instructed it to reduce generation, which compromised the units being repaired. Both companies were engaged by the territory following the privatization of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority, which seeks to overhaul its dated infrastructure and manage over $9 billion in debt.

The island's ombudsman, Edwin García Feliciano, urged the governor to hold a decisive meeting with energy officials and criticized the companies for holding Puerto Ricans "hostage." The outages come just weeks after Tropical Storm Ernesto left over 730,000 residents without power, continuing the strain on Puerto Rico's already fragile electric grid, initially devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)

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