2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 28 - Puerto Rico Energy Transformation and RELIEF Act (§§ 1051 — 1056) › Subchapter IV - Creation, Structure, Operation, Budget, and General Powers of the Puerto Rico Energy Administration and the Energy Commission (§§ 1054 — 1054rr) › § 1054gg - Mediation and arbitration of energy affairs

(a) Mediation.— Any person negotiating an agreement with PREPA or an independent power producer regarding wheeling, capacity rates, interconnection, power purchase, or any other matter established by the Commission through regulations may, at any point during the negotiation, ask the Energy Commission to mediate and assist in the resolution of any differences arising in the course of the negotiation.
(b) Arbitration.— In the event that the parties involved in a mediation process described in subsection (a) of this section fail to reach an agreement, or in lieu of a mediation process, the parties may agree to submit the dispute to arbitration before the Commission. The agreement or consent of the parties to undergo any or all disputes between them to arbitration shall be made in writing and signed by both/the parties or their authorized representatives.
(1) Any request for arbitration submitted to the Commission shall include the agreement for arbitration signed by the parties, and specify:
The issues or disputes whose resolution the parties are requesting to the Commission;
the allegations of facts that are not in dispute and those that are in dispute;
the position of each of the parties with respect to the issues in dispute;
[a detailed list] of all witnesses that the parties intend to present in the arbitration
process along with a summary of their testimonies. In the case of expert witnesses the curriculum vitae of each one of them, as well as their expert report shall also be submitted;
[a detailed list] of each document or evidence that the parties intend to present in the arbitration process, along with a description of the purpose of presenting each document or evidence; and
the remedy sought.
(2) Award of the request for arbitration.—
The Commission shall award the issues or disputes set forth by the parties in the request for arbitration, provided that said disputes are comprised within the scope of the agreement for arbitration signed by the parties.
The Commission may require any of the parties to the arbitration process described herein to furnish or provide information as may be necessary for the Commission to address the matter in dispute. If any party refuses or fails unreasonably to respond to any request of the Commission, then the Commission may proceed to resolve the dispute on the basis of the best information available to it, from whatever source derived.
The Commission shall issue the arbitration award on or before one hundred eighty (180) days after the filing of the response to the request for arbitration, unless: (i) exceptional circumstances impair the proper adjudication of the dispute within such term, or (ii) the parties to the arbitration process agree in writing to the extension of said term.
(c) The refusal of any party to cooperate with the Commission in carrying out its functions as an arbitrator or mediator or to continue negotiating in good faith in the mediation shall be considered a reckless act and the Commission may take reasonable measures to protect the other parties.
(d) Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the approval of this act, the Commission shall adopt regulations as necessary for the procedure and rules to be followed during the mediation and arbitration processes. Prior to the adoption and effectiveness of said regulations, the Commission may issue an administrative order to apply the regulations adopted to such effects by the American Arbitration Association or any other applicable regulations to the mediation and arbitration processes before its consideration. The Commission shall facilitate and provide agreement models or arbitration clauses that may be used by the parties to agree to submit to the arbitration process established in this section.
History —May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 6.34; renumbered as § 6.33 on Feb. 16, 2016, No. 4, § 27.