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Debt and Dirty Energy Weigh Heavy on Puerto Rico’s Utility

By Carmelo Ruiz-MarreroReprint |       |  Print | Send by email

The University of Puerto Rico showcases a solar-powered home at the 2009 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. Five years later, renewable energy sources have yet to be used widely on the island. Credit: Stefano Paltera/US Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon

SAN JUAN, Apr 28 2014 (IPS) - Everyone in Puerto Rico agrees that the island’s ailing Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is badly in need of an overhaul, both in engineering and economic terms.

Its inefficient, largely obsolete, and highly polluting generating facilities, most of which use petroleum as fuel, require expensive repairs or must be replaced altogether.

“There is no free lunch. Technological fixes are traps." -- Juan E. Rosario

Its finances are in a shambles. The utility’s debt stood at just over 8.95 billion dollars as of 2013, and its rates are rising ever faster, with commercial and residential ratepayers crying for relief.

However, there is sharp disagreement among stakeholders as to what is to be done.