The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Puerto Rico’s energy crisis.
“This is a convenient platform for certain members to feign interest in Puerto Rico’s energy future,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez. She went on to suggest that Congress had plenty of time to explore the problems facing Puerto Rico’s electric grid and to list the organizations that failed to send representatives to the hearing. “We must commit to achieving energy justice and reliability for the Island. Puerto Ricans have suffered from longstanding Congressional neglect and we must break this cycle.”
Rep. Bruce Westerman spoke out against renewable energy, saying it would be unreliable. He joined Velazquez in decrying the failure of many federal government agencies and departments to show at the hearing. “The people of Puerto Rico deserve to have reliable power.”
Expert witnesses
Mr. Antonio Torres Miranda, Associate Commissioner of the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, reminded the listeners of the outages that have been taking place and listed efforts being made to improve the situation. “Despite ongoing efforts, we face several persistent issues.” Vegetation management, repairing base load generators to meet industry standards, and PREPA’s long-running bankruptcy are mong the challenges. Torres Miranda called for renewable and non-renewable resources and a holistic approach considering economic and social realities.
The CEO of Luma, Mr. Juan Saca, along with other representatives from Lum, jumped in with concerns about longstanding neglect of the infrastructure. He pointed out that Luma took over after the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria, which led to 11 months of blackout across much of the Island. He emphasized how hard Luma has been working and the financial mismanagement and neglect which left them “a legacy of failure.” He listed the projects they have worked on and the steps they have taken as well as the upcoming projects, concluding that “Progress is being made…We will get the job done.”
Mr. Brannen McElmurray of Genera made a similar presentation. In response to questioning, he said that “The system relies on power plants that were built before America put a man on the moon.” The current system relies on obsolete technology which has not been maintained, he observed, and the new renewable energy sources put stress on the current infrastructure, which was not designed to work with such energy sources. Later, he pointed out that D.C. can expect to be without power for one day in two years, but Puerto Rico can expect to be without power for two days every month.
Ms. Hageman asked whether the historical preservation requirements were part of the problem, and the experts agreed that it was.
Rep. Ritchie Torres said, “The people of Puerto Rico have been deprived of reliable and affordable energy on a scale and at a length that would be tolerated nowhere else in the United States. Puerto Rico is in a state of emergency.” He also drew attention to the high proportion of oil-generated electricity
Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon said that the problems with electricity are a threat to the health and wellbeing of the people of Puerto Rico. “The system can barely meet demand and any spike can bring it down,” she said. “You cannot run a business like this. Schools, hospitals, every sector on the Island is affected by this.”
Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez brought up the renewable energy question again in her questions, arguing for solar energy. Her question also elicited a mention of hydrogen energy, a technology Westerman has spoken for in the past. A discussion of various forms of electricity generation followed. This was followed by an extensive discussion of financial details.
The vegetation
Under questioning, Saca reported that 16,000 miles of vegetation must be cleared, and much of the land that requires clearing belongs to PREPA. In response to a question, he said that this clearing would take three years, of which one full year would be taken up by regulatory approval and environmental review. He asked for a waiver which would allow the work to be done without environmental studies.
Gonzalez-Colon brought up the fact that Puerto Rico, as a tropical island, will always have vegetation issues. Clearing the vegetation today doesn’t mean there won’t be more vegetation to clear tomorrow. The witnesses seemed to be at a loss at this point, but were in agreement that vegetation, along with lack of maintenance over the years, was a primary problem in keeping the lights on.
What could Congress do?
Saca said that the most important thing Congress can do is to provide waivers on regulations. Gonzalez-Colon asked what waiver requests had been submitted and, when Mr. Saca was unable to answer the question with certainty, requested that a list of them be submitted to the committee.
Rep. James Moylan spoke up for cutting red tape, clearing vegetation quickly, and continuing the discussion. Velazquez insisted that more federal funds were needed.
Mr. McElmurray recommended working with the Army Corps of Engineers, speaking optimistically about the work they would be able to accomplish.
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