On October 8, 2021, Representatives Katie Porter (D-CA) and Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)[1] sent a letter to the head of LUMA Energy, Puerto Rico's electric utility, asking for additional details on staffing levels, expenditures, executive compensation, and a stretch of power outages.[2] In June 2021, LUMA took over operating the island's distribution and transmission infrastructure from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) as part of an agreement with Puerto Rico's Public-Private Partnership Agreement. The takeover is an effort to overcome PREPA's bankruptcy and is intended to help Puerto Rico rebuild its grid after Hurricane Maria destroyed it in 2017.
The letter from the congressmen follows an oversight hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee on October 6, 2021, during which LUMA President and CEO Wayne Stensby failed to answer some of the committee's questions completely. The letter claims that since LUMA's take over, "conditions have worsened." The House Democrats highlight several issues, including a fire at LUMA's Monacillo substation in June 2021 that knocked out power to 800,000 customers. In addition, service complaints have more than doubling since the takeover. Despite these issues, LUMA has already tried to increase rates despite promises to keep them constant for the first three years of operation. The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau recently rejected the utility's request to recover $52 million in additional fuel and other costs in June and July 2021.
Rep. Porter and Rep. Grijalva argue that "One potential reason for these issues has been the size and experience of LUMA's workforce." According to the letter, over 3,000 of the 4,200 PREPA employees eligible to be transitioned "did not move to LUMA and instead transferred to other departments in the Puerto Rican government," despite LUMA's contract requiring qualified PREPA employees to be prioritized in the hiring process. Among other requests, the letter asks LUMA for a detailed breakdown of the number of employees and their experience levels across a variety of positions.
[1] Representative Porter is chair of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and Representative Grijalva is chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
[2] https://naturalresources.house.gov/imo/media/doc/HNRC%20Document%20Request%20-%20LUMA%20Energy%20-%2010.8.2021.pdf