Puerto Rico’s energy regulator has ordered LUMA and Genera to answer detailed questions about fuel costs and generation problems before it will consider LUMA’s proposed rate increase for this fall.
In a Sept. 18 order, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau directed both companies to respond by noon on Sept. 22 to a detailed information request covering fuel deliveries and contracts, natural gas volumes requested versus received, forced generator outages, transmission constraints, the cost of substitute energy, and how the ongoing drought has affected hydroelectric production. The bureau also scheduled a virtual technical conference for Sept. 28 at 10 a.m.
The order is a direct response to LUMA’s proposal, announced last week, to raise the average residential bill by roughly $48 starting in October through a quarterly fuel-cost adjustment. The bureau has not approved that increase — the new order requires LUMA and Genera to justify the underlying fuel and purchased-power figures first.
Related coverage: LUMA Warns Bills Could Rise $48 in October
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Sources: Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, NotiCel
