The short version
- Metro Puerto Rico reports that Josué Colón Ortiz said LUMA reacted quickly to false and defamatory claims but has lacked the same diligence on blackouts and system failures
- NotiCel reported that on Nov. 10 LUMA attributed load shedding to insufficient generation while Colón Ortiz said no generating units went offline and blamed issues on LUMA's operation of the system
- Colón Ortiz stated that of $11 billion in federal reconstruction funds LUMA has obtained reimbursement for only about 6 percent after six years
- He noted that LUMA had cleared only 238 of 5,299.7 miles of vegetation under the FAASt program as of Nov. 9 a 4.49 percent advance
Criticism of LUMA's Priorities
Josué Colón Ortiz, Puerto Rico's energy czar and executive director of the Public-Private Partnerships Authority, questioned the speed with which LUMA Energy responded to allegations of attempting to pressure the Supreme Court. Metro Puerto Rico reported that Colón Ortiz contrasted this with what he described as the company's lack of urgency regarding power outages, vegetation clearing, management of federal reconstruction funds, inflated bills and responses to mayors and communities.
The comments came after LUMA President Janisse Quiñones addressed claims of influence on the Supreme Court in the company's contract case, which La Fortaleza has rejected as false and defamatory. Colón Ortiz said it was surprising that LUMA showed such rapid reaction to "expresiones falsas y difamatorias" while the same diligence has been absent during the years it has operated the transmission and distribution system.
Also on PuertoRico.com: Puerto Rico power and water outages
What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
Resulta verdaderamente sorprendente la rapidez con la que la presidenta de LUMA reaccionó a expresiones falsas y difamatorias
Our translation: It is truly surprising the speed with which the president of LUMA reacted to false and defamatory statements
The source's own statement, as quoted by Metro Puerto Rico. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Dispute Over Cause of Recent Outages
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, a difference emerged between LUMA and Colón Ortiz regarding the cause of load shedding that affected thousands of customers. NotiCel reported that LUMA stated there were load reliefs due to insufficient generation, meaning available energy was not enough to meet customer demand.
Colón Ortiz countered that no generating units from AES, EcoEléctrica or Genera Puerto Rico had gone offline that afternoon. He said 68,644 customers had been affected by matters related to the operation of the system under LUMA Energy. At 4:40 p.m. that day LUMA's data showed 31,111 customers without service, with Bayamón reporting the highest number at 23,558.
Progress on Federal Funds and Vegetation
Colón Ortiz indicated that Puerto Rico has approximately $11,000 million in federal funds for reconstruction of the transmission and distribution network. According to Metro Puerto Rico he said LUMA has secured reimbursements of only around 6 percent after six years of operation.
He added that as of Nov. 9, data reported to COR3 and the U.S. Department of Energy showed LUMA had cleared just 238 of the 5,299.7 miles of vegetation it is responsible for under the FAASt program, representing 4.49 percent progress. The official listed nine major failures since 2021, including three islandwide blackouts that each left about 1.47 million customers without service, and cited statistics showing increased duration and frequency of interruptions under LUMA.
Where the sources differ
Both Metro Puerto Rico and NotiCel reported statements by Josué Colón Ortiz criticizing LUMA. Metro Puerto Rico focused on Colón Ortiz questioning LUMA's rapid response to Supreme Court pressure allegations compared with its handling of blackouts, vegetation, federal funds and customer complaints, and quoted him saying LUMA must leave. NotiCel reported a specific Nov. 10 dispute in which LUMA attributed load shedding to insufficient generation while Colón Ortiz said no generation units went offline and attributed the outages to problems in the system's operation under LUMA; the two sources agree on Colón Ortiz's overall criticism but differ in emphasis and the specific outage numbers each cited.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state whether LUMA responded to Colón Ortiz's latest criticisms or provided its own figures on federal fund reimbursements and vegetation clearing. They do not detail what specific operational problems Colón Ortiz attributes to LUMA on Nov. 10, the exact cause of the load shedding, how long the affected customers were without power, or what actions if any the government plans to take regarding the contract or LUMA's continued operation.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Official Zar de Energía cuestiona rapidez de LUMA sobre alegaciones, pero no con los apagones
- Reporting Zar de Energía cuestiona rapidez de LUMA sobre alegaciones, pero no con los apagones
- Reporting LUMA atribuye apagones a falta de generación, pero Zar de Energía apunta a problemas en la red
How we checked this
Metro Puerto Rico and NotiCel both reported on Josué Colón Ortiz's criticism of LUMA Energy. Metro Puerto Rico provided the broader critique on priorities, federal funds and vegetation management along with direct quotes. NotiCel focused on the conflicting explanations for the Nov. 10 outages. All figures on funds, vegetation progress and outage numbers rest on Colón Ortiz or LUMA data as presented in the two outlets.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.
Nils Huenerfuerst / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0PuertoRico.com is free, and readers like you keep it that way.
The PuertoRico.com newsroom checks every story against its sources and publishes it free. If this one helped, a contribution of any size keeps the next one free too.
Secure checkout by Stripe: card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link.
One payment, nothing to sign up for.
Contributions go to Puerto Rico.com, LLC. They are not charitable donations and are not tax-deductible. Payments are processed by Stripe.
Thank you for keeping PuertoRico.com free.
Your contribution went through. It helps pay for the next story.
Contributions go to Puerto Rico.com, LLC. They are not charitable donations and are not tax-deductible. Payments are processed by Stripe.