reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 9 - Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (§§ 141 — 169) › § 164 - Charges for connections and use of system—Definitions

The following terms shall have, for the purposes of §§ 164—167 of this title, the meaning hereinafter set forth, except as otherwise clearly expressed in the context, and the use of the term in singular shall include the plural and vice versa.
(a) Authority. — Means the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority of Puerto Rico.
(b) System. — Means the aqueduct system or the sewer system of the Authority, or both systems, as defined in § 141 of this title.
(c) Unit. — Means a dwelling or apartment with one or more bedrooms; each hotel room; each hospital room for a single patient (it being understood that rooms for various patients shall constitute a different unit for each two patients); for environmental remedy or clean-up projects, 400 gallons of water to be discharged per day in respect to the sewer system; and in the case of buildings or structures for other commercial uses or for industrial uses, a daily estimate of 400 gallons of water consumption regarding either system.
(d) Owner. — Means any person, corporation, partnership, association or cooperative, whether operating for profit or not. It also includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its municipalities, agencies and corporations, and the United States, its agencies and corporations.
(e) Urbanization. — Means any segregation, division or subdivision of a tract of land that, for the works to be performed for the platting of lots is not comprised in the term of “simple subdivision” as defined in § 2 of Act No. 213 of May 12, 1942, as amended. The term “urbanization” shall include, for the purposes of §§ 164—167 of this title, developments for houses, of four or more lots, in urban or rural zones.
(f) Multifamily building. — Includes only those having four or more units, constructed in urban or rural zone.
(g) Environmental remedy or clean-up project. — For the purposes established herein, it means an action proposed or carried out, whether voluntarily or by order of any agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the federal government, with the purpose of cleaning up, repairing, restoring or correcting damages inflicted to the subsoil, which places a water supply at risk of becoming contaminated or has been contaminated.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 170, Part 2, p. 4, § 1; Aug. 30, 2000, No. 248, § 1, 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 9 - Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (§§ 141 — 169) › § 165 - Charges for connections and use of system—Provisional

(a) The Authority is hereby empowered to impose and collect a fee or charge per unit from owners of urbanizations and multifamily buildings or buildings for institutional, industrial or commercial uses (including hotels and hospitals) for the connection to and use of the system.
(b) The units subject to the imposition and collection of said fee or charge shall be those connected to the system on and from the date this act takes effect, because they constitute new constructions, or enlargements or extensions of constructions already existing, or because they require new bigger connections.
(c) The Authority shall impose and collect said fee or charge up to the sum of one hundred dollars ($100) for each unit to be connected to the aqueducts system, and up to one hundred dollars ($100) for each unit to be connected to the sewer system, taking into consideration the additional charge which the system will have to bear because of the connection of the units of the urbanization or the building and the capacity of the system to which connected to absorb the additional charge.
(d) The payment or the bonding of the fee or charge, imposed by the Authority, as the latter may provide, shall be an indispensable requirement to authorize the construction and use of the units upon which the fee or charge is imposed by the Permit Officer attached to the Puerto Rico Planning Board.
(e) The owner of units who disagrees with the imposition or with the reasonability of the charge shall pay it or give a bond on it, and appeal therefrom to the Board of Construction and Subdivisions Appeals within 30 days after the payment or bonding, and there shall be followed insofar as applicable, the procedure established in § 26 of Act No. 213 of May 12, 1942, as amended. Said term of 30 days shall be of a jurisdictional character. The resolution of the Board may be reviewed by the Court of First Instance, San Juan Part, at the request of the appellant or the Authority in accordance with the procedure therein provided.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 170, Part 2, p. 4, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 9 - Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (§§ 141 — 169) › § 166 - Charges for connections and use of System—Permanent

The fee or provisional charge established in § 165 of this title shall continue in effect until a permanent charge becomes effective for the same right of connection and use of the system of the Authority, approved by the latter in [sic] pursuant to the provisions of §§ 144 and 158 of this title, for which it is hereby further empowered by §§ 164—167 of this title. For environmental remedy or clean-up projects, said permanent charge for connection and use of the sewer system shall be 25% of the charge established or to be established for each unit to be connected to the sewer system of the Authority. The discharge of environmental remedy or clean-up projects into the sanitary sewer system shall be authorized, provided the collection system and the used waters treatment plant of the PRASA have the hydraulic capacity to accept and process the same. Furthermore, the petitioner shall comply with the discharge limits, as well as with the discharge conditions and standards established by the Pretreatment Program of the PRASA and shall not impact negatively the operation, maintenance and compliance of the collection system and the treatment plan into which it intends to discharge.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 170, Part 2, p. 4, § 3; Aug. 30, 2000, No. 248, § 3; Dec. 22, 2000, No. 436, §§ 1, 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 9 - Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (§§ 141 — 169) › § 167 - Charges for connections and use of system—Validation

(a) The contributions or charges required or collected by the Authority, its officers or employees prior to the effectiveness of this act to contribute toward improvements of the system are hereby validated and ratified, such as if same had been imposed or collected for connection and use of the system.
(b) Any owner of units who, prior to the date of approval of this act, has protested in writing one of such charges or contributions required by the Authority, may appeal from the charge or its reasonability before the Board of Constructions and Subdivisions of Appeals within the 30 days following the date this act takes effect, as provided in subsection (e) of § 165 of this title. The Board shall have power to consider the appeal on its merits only as to the totality or part of those charges that the appellant alleges and proves that he has absorbed without passing them on to third persons.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 170, Part 2, p. 4, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 9 - Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (§§ 141 — 169) › § 168 - Loans from the Farmer’s Home Administration

(a) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico agrees to reimburse the principal and interest and the financing charges incurred by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority to pay the loans granted to it by the Farmer’s Home Administration in the amount of $33.7 million, for the constructin of aqueducts and sewers in rural areas or communities which qualify for such loans.
(b) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico agrees to secure the payment of the debt service of the $14,695,000 loan granted by the Farmer’s Home Administration to the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority in 1976. This security shall be effective in the event that the Authority cannot meet this obligation.
(c) The Office of Management and Budget of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall consign annually, in the Operating Expense Budget of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, such amounts as may be needed to cover the cost of the principal, interest and other financing charges incurred by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority in the payment of said loans.
History —Apr. 3, 1986, No. 8, p. 21, §§ 1-3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 9 - Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (§§ 141 — 169) › § 169 - Collecting an outstanding balance; prohibition

(a) The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall not collect outstanding water bills for water services provided to a property previously occupied by a defaulting customer from a new customer requesting water services for the same property. Any unpaid balance shall constitute a personal obligation of the prior customer, and the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall resort to the appropriate legal means to collect any outstanding water bill.
(b) The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall not refuse to provide water services to a new customer requesting such services for a property that was previously occupied by a defaulting customer until the arrearage is paid in full.
(c) This section does not preclude the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority from collecting or denying services to a new customer who is a member of the family unit of the defaulting customer or has otherwise benefited from the services previously provided to the property.
(d) The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority is hereby empowered to adopt regulations as are necessary and convenient to achieve the purposes of this section.
History —Jan. 3, 2014, No. 14, §§ 1—4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 171 - Powers of Aqueduct and Sewer Authority

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority is hereby authorized to assume the administration, operation, maintenance and conservation of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir, once these facilities have been wholly constructed and accepted as a work completed by the Electric Power Authority in the name and in behalf of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The waters appurtenant to the southern coast irrigation district, impounded and regulated in the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir shall not be subject to the rates, regulations and laws of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 172 - Personnel

By virtue of the responsibilities of administering, operating, maintaining and conserving the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir as provided by § 171 of this title, the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority is authorized to designate, at least six (6) months prior to the completion of the construction of said dam and reservoir, the personnel that shall be in charge of the operation, maintenance and conservation of said structure, in order that they may become acquainted with and receive the necessary training to assume the operation of its equipment, machinery, installations and facilities.
The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall pay directly for all the costs and expenses incurred in relation to the training period of the personnel designated by the latter for the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir and it shall recover said costs and expenses from any unencumbered surplus transferred to it by virtue of the provisions of this chapter as remainder from the legislative appropriations of funds for the construction of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir. In case said surplus should not be sufficient, or if there should be none, the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall recover such costs and expenses from the proceeds of the sale of the waters of said reservoir for industrial and municipal (residential and commercial) uses.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 173 - Expenses

In the discharge of the duties inherent to the operation, maintenance and conservation of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir, the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall calculate annually the cost estimate for the aforesaid dam and reservoir. The Electric Power Authority, in its capacity of administrator of the Southern Coast Irrigation Service, shall contribute with the funds corresponding to said Southern Coast Irrigation Service to balance said cost estimate. The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall calculate and report on said cost estimate to the Electric Power Authority sufficiently in advance to the closing of operations of each fiscal year so as to permit that the annual budget of the Southern Coast Irrigation Service may include the necessary items to cover the payment of that part of the operation, maintenance and conservation cost of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir pertaining to said service in the proportion that the waters may be used for irrigation and industrial and municipal uses (residential and commercial) during the period of time between the commencement date of the operation of the reservoir and the effective date of the eventual transfer of the property of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir to the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, as provided in § 174 of this title. Subsequent to the effective date of the transfer, the proportionate part of the expenses which shall be charged as pertaining to the Southern Coast Irrigation Service shall be fourteen twenty-thirds (14/23) of the whole budget for the operation, maintenance and conservation of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir. The proportion to be assumed by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority as operation, maintenance and conservation expenses which it estimates correspond to it shall be nine twenty-thirds (9/23) of said budget.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 174 - Transfers

All real and personal property, mixed, tangible and intangible, equipment, machinery, installation, facilities, rights-of-way, easements, surplus of funds from legislative appropriations for the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir, accounts, books, records, rights, franchises, contracts, obligations, privileges, bills, vouchers, drawings, maps, studies made and documents of any kind or nature belonging to the Commonwealth which are under the custody of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, produced for and devoted to, and which constitute the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir project in Villalba, shall be conveyed to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority as soon as the dam and reservoir are in full operation and in condition to supply nine million (9,000,000) gallons of water daily for industrial and municipal (residential and commercial) uses, as provided hereinafter in § 178 of this title.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 175 - Registration in the Registry of Property

The registrars of property shall, upon certification of the Executive Director of the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority and approval of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, register, free of charge, in the name of said Authority, all property and real rights conveyed to it by virtue of this chapter.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 176 - Rates

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority is hereby authorized, following the procedure established in §§ 141—161 of this title, to fix rates and special charges that are just and reasonable for water service for industrial purposes.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 177 - Use of funds

The funds provided by the rates fixed by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority applicable to the first stage of the project “Supply of Waters for the Southern-Central Region” in the municipality of Villalba, known as the Toa Vaca project, shall be used:
(1) To pay ordinary operational expenses;
(2) to pay service of the debt;
(3) to provide for renewal and substitution of the structures of the project;
(4) the surplus, if any, shall be devoted in the first place to the development of subsequent stages of the Toa Vaca project, or in default thereof, to the construction, improvement and enlargement of aqueducts.
The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall submit every year to the Legislative Assembly a program of public works which it shall develop with said funds, as provided in the preceding paragraph.
This program may be altered by the Legislative Assembly and it shall be executed in the manner approved by the latter.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 10 - Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir (§§ 171 — 178) › § 178 - Vested rights

No provision contained in this chapter shall in any way affect the right to the use of water granted by the Puerto Rico Southern Coast Irrigation Service Act to the lands served by the Puerto Rico Public Irrigation Service, South Coast, §§ 251—279 of this title, nor the rights of water concessions of the Jacaguas and Toa Vaca Rivers conferred by the Spanish Crown which were not granted or conveyed to the People of Puerto Rico and which are still in force, as legally recognized, and said lands shall continue to enjoy the benefit of those waters in the same degree and to the same extent as they do at present. The Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir shall be subject to the obligation existing toward the lands being irrigated by waters from the Guayabal Reservoir and for such purposes the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority shall deliver the waters from the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir appurtenant to the Southern Coast Irrigation Service, allowing them to pass from said dam to the Guayabal Reservoir, according to the need of said irrigation service. If the estimated average water capacity of twenty-three million (23,000,000) gallons daily of this first stage, which in addition to the supply now regulated in the Guayabal Dam is expected to be used upon construction of the Toa Vaca Dam and Reservoir, the Southern Coast Irrigation Service shall retain for its own use the remaining waters after deducting the amount of nine million (9,000,000) gallons of water daily which is hereby allocated and made available to the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority for industrial and municipal (residential and commercial) purposes in the southern-central region of Puerto Rico.
History —July 7, 1971, No. 11, p. 622, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 191 - Short title

Sections 191—217 of this title may be cited as the “Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Act”.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 1; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 193 - Creation and composition of a regulated authority

(a) There is hereby created a body corporate and politic constituting a public corporation and governmental instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by the name of the “Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority”.
(b) The Authority hereby created is and shall be a government instrumentality subject, as provided herein, to the control of its Governing Board, but it is a corporation having legal existence and personality separate and apart from that of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Authority and its Governing Board shall be subject to the supervision and oversight of the Commission, and shall submit all the information required and requested by the Commission in the form and manner that the latter prescribes therefor. The debts, obligations, contracts, bonds, notes, debentures, receipts, expenditures, accounts, funds, undertakings, and assets of the Authority, its officers, agents or employees shall be deemed to be those of said government-controlled corporation and not to be those of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any office, bureau, department, commission, instrumentality, municipality, branch, agent, officer or employee thereof. However, since it is a government instrumentality, the Legislative Assembly may act as the representative of its bondholders, the People of Puerto Rico, and protect the interests thereof by requiring PREPA to periodically submit, as required, to the Legislative Assembly and publish readily accessible in its website, the following information:
(1) Any document related to the revenues, sales, expenses, disbursements, assets, liabilities, accounts receivable, and any of the financial information thereof;
(2) The price per barrel, or its equivalent, per type of fuel, the average rate per kilowatt-hour for each class of customer, the cost of generation per kilowatt-hour, all operating expenses, distributed energy generation per type of technology, and any other information about the operations of the Authority;
(3) A breakdown of the daily electricity demand projected and determined by the Energy Control Center of PREPA;
(4) Data related to the energy generation capacity and reserve margin;
(5) Status of the internal procedures of PREPA to implement the changes required by means of legislation to reform Puerto Rico’s electrical system; and
(6) Any other information deemed necessary by the Legislative Assembly.
—May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 3; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1; June 17, 1966, No. 62, p. 203, § 1; May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 2.2.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 195a - Energy Control Center and its Director

(a) In order to protect the reliability in the management of the electric power grid, prevent discrimination against electric power companies interconnected to the electric power grid, and ensure greater independence in the operations of the electric power grid, the Board shall appoint, with the advice of the Executive Director, a Director of the Energy Control Center who shall answer directly to the Executive Director. With the assistance of the Director of the Energy Control Center and the Executive Director, the Board shall establish and maintain mechanisms that ensure the autonomous operation of the Energy Control Center. The Board may dismiss the Director of the Energy Control Center from office, but only for just cause and after he/she has been given notice and an opportunity to be heard. The Director of the Energy Control Center shall be an engineer specialized in the field relevant to his/her office and have at least ten (10) years of proven experience in the management of electric power grids. The Director may not: (1) have had a business relationship with or direct interest in PREPA within two (2) years before his/her appointment to such office; (2) have been a member of a local or central directing body of a political party registered in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico during the year immediately preceding his/her appointment; (3) be an employee, member, advisor, or contractor of PREPA’s labor unions; or (4) has failed to provide the certification of having filed income tax returns during the five (5) preceding taxable years issued by the Department of the Treasury, the certification of having no debts outstanding with PREPA, the Criminal Record issued by the Puerto Rico Police Department, as well as a negative certificate of debt issued by the Child Support Administration (ASUME, Spanish acronym) and the Municipal Revenues Collections Center (CRIM, Spanish acronym).
(b) The Director of the Energy Control Center shall collect and provide PREPA with daily information regarding energy itemization, to be published on PREPA’s website in accordance with the provisions of § 193 of this title.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, added as § 5A on May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 2.5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 195b - Electricity and fuel purchase

In matters related to the purchase of electricity and fuel and the handling thereof, the Board is hereby directed to:
(a) Evaluate, by contracting an independent consultant or consultants with expertise in the fields of fuel and electricity as well as electrical system management, and make recommendations for the creation and implementation of one or more alternatives to design an administrative and operational structure to achieve the following purposes:
(1) Guarantee transparency, prevent conflicts of interests, meet industry standards, and promote competitiveness;
(2) Separate the administrative control from the purchase of fuel and electricity; and
(3) Separate the Energy Control Center created pursuant to §§ 195a of this title.
(b) Submit to the Legislative Assembly and the Governor, along with a copy to the Energy Commission, a report on its recommendations, work plan, and schedule, not later than November 30th, 2016.
(c) Such recommendations may include the creation of an independent government entity, which may be a subsidiary, pursuant to the powers vested in the Authority in subsection (v) of § 196 of this title.
(d) The recommended structure may not be contrary to the Authority’s current agreements under the Trust Agreement entered into with the bondholders, and agreements related to the fuel line of credit, both of which are in effect as of the date of approval of the “Electric Power Authority Revitalization Act”, unless said agreements are amended to allow for such structure.
(e) If no additional legislation is needed, the Authority shall implement the recommendation adopted in accordance with the work plan and schedule proposed therein.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, added as § 5-B on Feb. 16, 2016, No. 4, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 196b - Repealed. Act Feb. 16, 2016, No. 4, § 10, eff. Feb. 16, 2016

History May 27, 2014, No. 57, —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, added as § 6B on May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 2.8; Repealed. Act.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 196d - Public-private partnership contracting process

(a) Without impairment to the powers granted to the Authority under § 196 of this title to contract goods and services using the different methods available to request, negotiate, and execute contracts, the Authority is hereby authorized to form Public-Private Partnerships to promote their investment in any of the facilities, functions, or services of the Authority. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Act, §§ 2601 et seq. of Title 27, the Authority shall be the only one authorized to set priorities in the development of Public-Private Partnerships projects related to the needs of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution in Puerto Rico in accordance with the Integrated Resource Plan and the Energy RELIEF Plan approved by the Commission.
(b) Whenever the Authority determines to consider the possibility of establishing a Public-Private Partnership project and earmarks the funds available to carry out said evaluation process, it shall so notify to the Public-Private Partnership Authority, which shall be required to carry out its duties as provided in §§ 2601 et seq. of Title 27, with regard to the evaluation and establishment of said project. The expenses incurred by the Public-Private Partnership Authority in carrying out the public-private partnership project evaluation and establishment process shall be defrayed by PREPA.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 2601 et seq. of Title 27, when evaluating a public-private partnership project pursuant to §§ 191—217 of this title, the Partnership Committee shall be composed as follows: five (5) members, to wit, two (2) members designated by the Authority’s Board, one (1) representative of the Government Development Bank, one (1) representative of the Energy Public Policy Office, and one (1) representative of the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority. When the Partnership process is carried out by the Commission, the Commission shall designate one (1) of the members of the Partnership Committee, who shall substitute one of the members designated by the Authority. Said Partnership Committee shall ensure faithful compliance with the provisions of §§ 2601 et seq. of Title 27.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 2601 et seq. of Title 27, in the case of public-private partnership projects related to the energy generation, transmission, and/or distribution in Puerto Rico, the Public-Private Partnership Authority may use any study or studies conducted by the Electric Power Authority or the Energy Commission in lieu of the desirability and convenience study required by said sections; Provided, that the scope and depth of said studies are appropriate to allow the Partnership Committee to determine whether the establishment of the project as a partnership is advisable.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, added as § 6C on Feb. 16, 2016, No. 4, § 12.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 198 - Transfer of system of the utilization of the water resources

There is hereby transferred and delivered, or there shall be so transferred and delivered to the Authority, all the property, real, personal, and mixed, tangible and intangible, of whatsoever kind and wheresoever situated, constituting the “System of the Utilization of the Water Resources” including all the funds, rights, franchises, privileges and assets of every character and description pertaining thereto, subject to all obligations and encumbrances, legal or equitable, with which the same may be burdened.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 8; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 199 - Transfer of records

The transfers provided by § 198 of this title shall take effect ninety (90) days after this act becomes effective. As soon as possible thereafter, the Utilization of the Water Resources and the Department of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico shall transfer and deliver to the Authority all contracts, books, maps, plans, papers, books of account, and reports of whatever description relating to the operation, maintenance, designing, or construction of any existing or contemplated undertaking, and the Authority is authorized to take possession for its uses and purposes of all such contracts, books, maps, plans, papers, books of account, and records.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 9; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 200 - Continuity of obligations

The Authority shall not take any action which shall have the effect of impairing the obligation of any contractual duties imposed upon or assumed by the People of Puerto Rico under authority of existing law. From and after the effective date of the transfers provided by § 198 of this title, the Authority shall assume all contracts and obligations of any department or agency of the People of Puerto Rico which may have been entered into or incurred for, or in the name of, or on behalf of, the Utilization of the Water Resources; and all such contracts and obligations shall inure to the benefit and credit of the Authority.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 10; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 201 - Appropriations and acts confirmed

All appropriations by the Legislature of Puerto Rico, whether by act or by joint resolution, to or for the benefit of the Utilization of the Water Resources or for the purpose of the development of the water resources of Puerto Rico, are hereby approved, confirmed, and ratified, and all sums so appropriated and all sums set aside or required to be set aside to or for the Utilization of the Water Resources or for the development of the water resources of Puerto Rico, except only appropriations to or for the benefit of public irrigation systems built and operated by the Commonwealth Government pursuant to special laws and all sums set aside or acquired to be set aside for said systems, shall be available to the Authority for the purposes for which they were so appropriated and set aside.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 11; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 202 - Moneys and accounts

All moneys of the Authority shall be deposited in qualified depositories for funds of the Commonwealth Government, but they shall be kept in a separate account or accounts in the name of the Authority. The disbursements shall be made by it pursuant to regulations and budgets approved by the Board.
The Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico shall, upon consultation with the Authority, establish the accounting system required for the proper statistical control and record of all expenses and income belonging to or managed or controlled by the Authority. The said Secretary of the Treasury shall require that the accounts of the Authority be kept in such manner as appropriately to segregate, insofar as advisable, the accounts in respect of the different classes of operations, projects, undertakings, and activities of the Authority, and he shall consider the advisability of requiring the Authority to adopt in whole or in part the system of accounts from time to time prescribed by the Federal Power Commission, or other Federal Authority, for public utilities owning properties and engaged in business similar to the properties and business of the Authority, and the necessity of keeping in accordance with such system of accounts, complete accounts of costs of generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy and of the total cost of electric generation, transmission and distribution works constructed or otherwise acquired by the Authority and a description of the major components of said costs, together with records of such other physical data and operating statistics as may be helpful in determining the actual cost and value of the services and practices, the methods, facilities, equipment, appliances, and the standards and sizes, types, location and geographical and economic integration of the plants and systems under the control of the Authority which may be best suited to promote the public interest, the efficiency and the wider and more economical use of electric energy; Provided, also, That the said Secretary of the Treasury or his representative shall from time to time, examine the accounts and books of the Authority, including its receipts, disbursements, contracts, leases, sinking funds, investments and any other matters which relate to its financial condition, and shall report thereon to the Board of the Authority and the Legislature.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 12; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 203 - Acquisition of land by the People of Puerto Rico

By request of the Authority, the Governor of Puerto Rico or the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works shall be empowered to acquire, be it through an agreement, or the exercise of the power of eminent domain, or by any other legal means, on behalf and representation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any property deed or interest thereon, that the Board of the Authority deems necessary and convenient for its own purposes. The Authority may place, at the disposal of said officials, such funds that may be needed to pay for said property, and once it is acquired, shall reimburse any amount paid that has not been previously delivered to the Commonwealth Government. Upon making said reimbursement to the Commonwealth Government (or in a reasonable time, if the total cost or price has been advanced by the Authority, as determined by the Governor), the title of said property thus acquired shall be transferred to the Authority. The Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, with the approval of the Governor, may make those he deems pertinent for the exploitation and control of said property by the Authority in benefit of the Commonwealth Government during the period of time that elapses before said deed has been transferred to the Authority. The power that it is hereby conferred, shall not limit or restrict, the power of the Authority to acquire properties in any form or limitation whatsoever. The title of any property of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico acquired in the past or that may be in the future, and is deemed necessary or convenient for the purposes of the Authority, may be transferred to it by the official in charge of said property, or who has custody thereof, under the terms and conditions that shall be fixed by the Governor or the official or agency he/she designates. The power that is hereby conferred to the Governor, shall not limit nor restrict the power of the Authority to initiate on its own the procedure of eminent domain, when its Board of Directors deems it convenient. Furthermore, the Authority shall meet the requirements established by the Planning Board in cases of public improvements.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 13; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1; Dec. 25, 2002, No. 297, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 208 - Remedies of bondholders

(a) Subject to any contractual limitations binding upon the holders of any issue of bonds, or trustees therefor, including but not limited to the restriction of the exercise of any remedy to a specified proportion or percentage of such holders, any holder of bonds, or trustee therefor, shall have the right and power, for the equal benefit and protection of all holders of bonds similarly situated:
(1) By mandamus or other suit, action, or proceeding at law or in equity to enforce his rights against the Authority and its Board, officers, agents, or employees to perform and carry out its and their duties and obligations under §§ 191—217 of this title and its and their covenants and agreements with bondholders;
(2) by action or suit in equity to require the Authority and the Board thereof to account as if they were the trustee of an express trust;
(3) by action or suit in equity to enjoin any acts or things which may be unlawful or in violation of the rights of the bondholders, and
(4) to bring suit upon the bonds.
(b) No remedy conferred by §§ 191—217 of this title upon any holder of the bonds, or any trustee therefor, is intended to be exclusive of any other remedy, but each such remedy is cumulative and in addition to every other remedy, and may be exercised without exhausting and without regard to any other remedy conferred by §§ 191—217 of this title or by any other law. No waiver of any default or breach of duty or contract, whether by any holder of the bonds, or any trustee therefor, shall extend to or shall affect any subsequent default or breach of duty or contract or shall impair any rights or remedies thereon. No delay or omission of any bondholder or any trustee therefor to exercise any right or power accruing upon default shall impair any such right or power or shall be construed to be a waiver of any such default or acquiescence therein. Every substantive right and every remedy, conferred upon the holders of the bonds, may be enforced and exercised from time to time and as often as may be deemed expedient. In case any suit, action, or proceeding to enforce any right or exercise any remedy shall be brought or taken and then discontinued or abandoned, or shall be determined adversely to the holder of the bonds, or any trustee therefor, then and in every case the Authority and such holder, or such trustee, shall be restored to their former positions and rights and remedies as if no such suit, action, or proceeding had been brought or taken.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 18; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 209 - Reports

The Authority shall submit to the Legislature and to the Governor of Puerto Rico, as soon as practicable after the close of each fiscal year of the Commonwealth Government but prior to the end of the calendar year: (1) A financial statement and complete report of the business of the Authority for the preceding fiscal year, and (2) a complete report on the status and progress of all its undertakings and activities since the creation of the Authority or the date of its last such report. The Authority shall also submit to the Legislature and to the Governor of Puerto Rico, at such other times as may be required, official reports of its business and activities under §§ 191—217 of this title.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 19; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 210 - Commonwealth and its political subdivisions not liable on bonds

The bonds and other obligations issued by the Authority shall not be a debt of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any of its municipalities or other political subdivisions, and neither the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico nor any such municipalities or other political subdivisions shall be liable thereon, nor shall such bonds or other obligations be payable out of any funds other than those of the Authority.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 20; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 211 - Bonds legal investments for fiduciaries and security for public deposits

The bonds of the Authority shall be lawful investment, and may be accepted as security, for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds, the investment or deposit of which shall be under the authority or control of the Government of Puerto Rico or any officer or officers thereof.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 21; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 213 - Declaration of public utility

For the purposes of subsection (h) of § 196 and § 203 of this title, all works, projects, and property and their accessories, which the Authority may deem necessary and convenient to use in carrying out the purposes expressed in §§ 191—217 of this title are hereby declared of public utility.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 23; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 215 - Agreement of Commonwealth Government

The Commonwealth Government does hereby pledge to, and agree with, any person, firm or corporation, or any federal, Commonwealth or state agency, subscribing to or acquiring bonds of the Authority to finance in whole or in part any undertaking or any part thereof, that it will not limit or alter the rights or powers hereby vested in the Authority until all such bonds at any time issued, together with the interest thereon, are fully met and discharged. The Commonwealth Government does further pledge to, and agree with, the United States and any other federal agency that in the event that any federal agency shall construct, extend, improve, or enlarge, or contribute any funds for the construction, extension, improvement, or enlargement of, any project for the development of the water resources in Puerto Rico or any portion thereof, the Commonwealth Government will not alter or limit the rights or powers of the Authority in any manner which would be inconsistent with the continued maintenance and operation of the water resources development or the extensions, improvement, or enlargement thereof, or which would be inconsistent with the due performance of any agreements between the Authority and any such federal agency; and the Authority shall continue to have and may exercise all rights and powers herein granted so long as the same shall be necessary or desirable for the carrying out of the purposes of §§ 191—217 of this title and the purpose of the United States or any other federal agency in constructing, extending, improving or enlarging, or contributing funds for the construction, extension, improvement or enlargement of, any water resources development or any portion thereof.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 25; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 216 - Injunctions

An injunction shall not be granted to prevent the application of §§ 191-217 of this title or any part thereof.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 26; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 217 - Inconsistent provisions of other acts

Insofar as the provisions of §§ 191—217 of this title are inconsistent with the provisions of any other act of the Legislature of Puerto Rico, the provisions of §§ 191—217 of this title shall be controlling and no law heretofore or hereafter passed governing the administration of the Commonwealth Government or any parts, offices, bureaus, departments, commissions, dependencies, municipalities, branches, agents, officers, or employees thereof shall be construed to apply to the Authority unless so specifically provided, but the affairs and business of the Authority shall be administered as provided herein.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, § 27; Apr. 8, 1942, No. 19, p. 330, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 8, 1942.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 217a - Citizen suits

(a) All citizens shall have legal standing to initiate civil actions on their behalf against PREPA to require compliance as a result of any action or omission of PREPA with respect to any of the obligations established in § 196a of this title. For purposes of this section, “citizen” means any natural or juridical person adversely affected, or that could be adversely affected, by an alleged violation of the provisions of §§ 191—217 of this title, or a mandate or order issued or adopted thereunder.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, added as § 28 on May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 2.11.