Privatization Of Puerto Rico's Electric Grid

[WHITT]

Gee, privatize the transmission and distribution of electricity and both blackouts and prices increase, who could have imagined?

Puerto Ricans Demand Solar Energy and Accountability for Power Mismanagement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives from a wide coalition of community and labor groups in Puerto Rico testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources today to share their concerns about LUMA Energy, the company that has privatized the majority of Puerto Rico’s public utility, PREPA. They urged the Committee to investigate the company’s operation on the island, as well as its assertion that it should control federal funds for electric system work in Puerto Rico.

Beginning in June, LUMA took over the transmission and distribution of energy in Puerto Rico in a public-private partnership with PREPA. Since LUMA assumed control of everything except the operation of generation plants, island residents have experienced daily power outages, destructive voltage fluctuations, and fires sparked by electrical malfunctions that have caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose power for extended periods of time. LUMA is also proposing additional rate hikes despite the fact that Puerto Ricans have already shouldered four rate increases this year alone and already pay higher energy bills than people in the mainland United States.

MORE:
https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2021/puerto-ricans-demand-solar-energy-and-accountability-for-power-mismanagement-at-congressional-hearing

[SharonAnn]

1. Privatization is only good for the owners. Always!

[ShazamIam]

2. I'm sure I am leaving out parts but I think the, "take over," was a "give away," by the Trump Adm

via a FEMA contract with LUMA. Of course the goal is an entirely privatized Puerto Rico, but not owned or privatized by Puerto Ricans, but by the wealthiest Americans and their private equity groups and why conservatives from the U.S. funded the fight against statehood each time it came up. Yes, it is only what I see as the news rolled by about just how much privatization is underway.

Like the current effort underway to privatize the Post Office with no compensation to the people of the U.S., they want to cook up something like this contracted, "take over." in Puerto Rico. Say contract with Jeff Bezos to run it. .

[Hoyt]

3. To be fair, the public power grid was failing before 2017, hurricane came, and the US

has never really helped Puerto Rico as it should. Hopefully, they’ll come up with a solution.

https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-puerto-rico-power-20170925-story.html

[Hortensis]

4. Poor people. No area has suffered more from tRump's presidency

than our Puerto Ricans. Fwiw, the government still owns and runs the power plants. Distribution, and whatever goes with it, was apparently spun off by tRump and co to this company. (Not the 2 guys in Montana tRump initially tried to award a giant contract to.)

Reportedly tRump etc didn't use most of the funding allocated after even the first hurricane, much less the second and the big earthquake.

How to rebuild to new renewable energy standards, and mandates, and yet also get over 3 million people the electricity they need right now? As it is, PR apparently hasn't had nearly enough skilled electrical grid workers to keep what wasn't destroyed and beyond repair going, even before LUMA.

[Wounded Bear]

5. When they privatized the power grid in California we got Enron...

yeah, that'll work again, even better.