Puerto Rico: La Fortaleza criticizes LUMA president over her message on the electricity rate hike

San Juan — La Fortaleza's Secretary of Public Affairs, Jean Peña Payano, criticized LUMA Energy president Janisse Quiñones on Sunday over the video message the executive posted last week about the electricity rate increase in Puerto Rico.

According to El Nuevo Día, Peña Payano questioned the expressions of solidarity that Quiñones shared in that video with residents and business owners who have seen their electricity bills rise significantly in recent weeks.

The debate comes at a time of strong discontent on the island over the cost of electricity. Between October and December, residential customers are paying a record rate of 33.86 cents per kilowatt-hour, after the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau approved on September 30 most of the adjustment requested by LUMA, based on fuel costs reported by Genera PR.

According to El Nuevo Día, an average unsubsidized residential customer pays about $42.27 more per month than in the previous quarter, an increase that has fueled protests by citizens and shop owners who say the hikes are unsustainable.

The rate discussion also overlaps with the fight over the future of LUMA's contract, under which the company operates the island's electricity transmission and distribution. Governor Jenniffer González's administration has raised the company's exit, while the contract remains under review in the courts, according to the newspaper's coverage.

Photo: El Nuevo Día / Ramon “Tonito” Zayas

Source: El Nuevo Día