The short version
- Primera Hora reported the average cost per kilowatt-hour in Puerto Rico rose from $0.1963 in fiscal 2021 to $0.269 in fiscal 2026
- El Vocero reported the increase equals about 37 percent compared with a 30 percent rise in the United States over the same period
- CED Director José Caraballo Cueto told both outlets the seven-percentage-point gap cannot be attributed solely to fuel costs
- The study found the SAIDI index measuring outage duration increased 9 percent between fiscal years 2022 and 2026
Cost comparison with U.S.
The Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo (CED) of the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras campus released an analysis comparing electricity costs before and after LUMA Energy began operating the grid in July 2021. Primera Hora reported that in fiscal 2021, the 12 months prior to LUMA's entry, the average cost per kilowatt-hour was $0.1963 in Puerto Rico and $0.1078 in the United States. By fiscal 2026 it had risen to $0.269 in Puerto Rico and $0.1404 in the United States.
This represents increases of approximately 37 percent in Puerto Rico and 30 percent in the United States, according to El Vocero. The CED used fiscal-year averages to account for large monthly variations seen in Puerto Rico but not in the mainland.
Also on PuertoRico.com: Puerto Rico power and water outages
Researcher conclusions
CED Director José Caraballo Cueto stated that five years after LUMA took over, energy costs in Puerto Rico rose seven percentage points more than in the United States. He said the increase cannot be blamed only on fuel costs. Both outlets quoted him saying the island's energy is more expensive, more volatile and of lower quality than in the United States, and that handing the grid to LUMA did not reduce costs as expected in some quarters.
The analysis also reviewed service quality using data from the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau. The SAIDI index, which measures average outage duration per customer, rose 9 percent between fiscal years 2022 and 2026, the reports said. Caraballo Cueto indicated the findings show challenges in both cost and service continuity.
Where the sources differ
Primera Hora and both El Vocero articles report identical figures for kilowatt-hour costs, percentage increases, the seven-percentage-point gap, and the 9 percent SAIDI rise. All three attribute the data and conclusions to the same CED study and Director José Caraballo Cueto. The two El Vocero entries contain nearly duplicate text with only minor differences in accompanying weather widgets and comment sections; one URL was excluded per instructions. No material conflicts exist among the sources used.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state the absolute difference in cents per kilowatt-hour between Puerto Rico and the U.S. in 2026, nor do they provide the actual SAIDI values in minutes or hours. They contain no response from LUMA Energy, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority or the Energy Bureau to the study's findings. Next steps for the research or any planned government review are not mentioned.
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 Estudio revela que el costo de energía aumentó más en Puerto Rico que en Estados Unidos
- Reporting Estudio revela que el costo de energía aumentó más en Puerto Rico que en Estados Unidos
- Reporting Costo de la energía eléctrica en Puerto Rico aumentó 37% en los pasados cinco años
How we checked this
Primera Hora and El Vocero both based their coverage on the CED study released by the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras campus. All specific numbers, the SAIDI increase and the researcher's quoted conclusions rest on that single analysis.
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.