A committee of the United States House of Representatives on Friday demanded that the company in charge of the transmission and distribution of electricity in Puerto Rico provide essential information, amid blackouts on the island that have outraged and exasperated many.
The Natural Resources Commission ordered the Luma company to send the information by October 22, including the number of maintenance workers it employs, the estimated time that a generation unit will be inoperable and the compensation packages and personnel charges that earns more than $ 200,000 a year.
The letter comes two days after several officials, including Luma CEO Wayne Stensby, testified at a commission hearing to learn more about the current blackouts in Puerto Rico.
“Many of your answers were incomplete. You refused to answer any other questions, ”said the panel, which oversees affairs on the island, which is US territory.
The Puerto Rico House of Representatives had sued Luma to obtain similar information, and the territory’s Supreme Court ordered the company to hand it over, which has not happened. At the time, Stensby said the company is private and the information is confidential.
Luma issued a statement on Friday saying that its more than 3,100 employees work hard “despite the many and very difficult challenges of those who oppose the transformation,” adding that a lot of misinformation has spread. But the company did not address the questions or concerns raised by the commission.
The blackouts have forced schools and businesses to close, and raised concerns among those who need insulin or medical oxygen. The lack of electricity has also caused losses to thousands of businesses throughout the island, such as Carmen Lydia de Jesús’s small shop, in the mountain town of Ciales.
De Jesús estimates that he has lost about $ 6,000 by not being able to open his business, and that the voltage fluctuations caused a fire in his house and damages of more than $ 4,000.
“I was not burned by a miracle,” he said. “We cannot continue like this. It is an abuse ”.
Luma took over the reins of electricity transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico on June 1, and since then he has been the target of strong criticism. The lower house panel said in its letter that, in some cases, conditions have worsened since Luma took over. Information requested by legislators includes the number and duration of blackouts, the causes of each blackout, and the number of voltage fluctuations that can cause property damage.
Officials and former officials of the island have attributed the blackouts to the retirement of experienced employees and the lack of maintenance of the generation units owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. They also point out that the electricity grid remains fragile after the hit of Hurricane María in September 2017 and that reconstruction has not yet begun.
On Friday, the governing board of the electricity authority approved a declaration of a state of emergency to accelerate contracts and the purchase of expensive equipment, although Governor Pedro Pierluisi said he did not think it was necessary, since the government already had the authorization to do so.
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