2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 11 - Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (§§ 191 — 240) › § 196c - Responsibilities

(a) Energy RELIEF Plan.— The Authority shall be required to file with the Commission an Energy RELIEF Plan which shall be published in its entirety on the Authority’s website so that it may be easily accessed by any interested party. The Energy RELIEF Plan shall address the following
(1) High efficiency generation.— Within a term that shall not exceed five (5) years after July 1st, 2014, the Authority shall ensure that, at least sixty percent (60%) of the electric power generated in Puerto Rico based on fossil fuels (gas, coal, oil, and others) is “high-efficiency,” as such term is defined by the Commission. The term “high efficiency” shall include as main factors the thermal efficiency of the power plant or facility per type of fuel used, fuel cost, technology, potential of proposed technology to reduce production costs per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and/or any other industry requirement that guarantees efficiency in the generation of power and in accordance with the Integrated Resource Plan. The percentage required under this section shall include the fossil fuel-powered energy sold to the Authority under power purchase agreements executed as of the approval of this act.
(2) Production costs.— If it is necessary for the Authority to purchase electricity for Puerto Rico, any power purchase agreement shall meet the criteria established by the Commission pursuant to §§ 191—217 of this title; Provided, That no energy co-generator shall realize gains attributable to fuel. The co-generators” profit margin under power purchase agreements to be approved by the Commission shall meet the criteria established by the Commission. Such criteria shall be consistent with price escalation or adjustments normally used by the industry for such purposes, as well as any other criteria or methodology used to regulate gains attributable to power purchase agreements in order to ensure that such agreements set a reasonable and just price. Before its execution, any power purchase agreement shall be submitted for the Commission’s evaluation and approval, to ensure that the prices, adjustments, escalation, and profit margin meet the criteria established by the Commission.
(3) Bid process and request for proposals for the purchase of power and/or modernization of electric power generation facilities.— Any bid process or request for proposals for the purchase of electric power by the Authority shall be carried out by the Authority subject to the supervision of the Commission and in accordance with a joint regulations to be approved by the Commission and the Authority for such purposes, within a term that shall not exceed ninety (90) days after the approval of the Electric Power Authority Revitalization Act. Likewise, any bid process or request for proposals for the modernization of electric power generation plants or facilities to be carried out by the Authority in order to improve their efficiency, shall be carried out by the Authority in a competitive manner by means of requests for proposals subject to supervision and in accordance with a joint regulations to be approved for such purposes, or by means of the Public-Private Partnership process provided in §196d of this title pursuant to §§ 2601 et seq. of Title 27, as well as the provisions of the aforementioned joint regulations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Authority fails to comply with the deadlines to complete the competitive processes set forth in the Energy RELIEF Plan and of the Integrated Resource Plan, the Commission shall be authorized to begin and carry out said bid, request for proposals, or public-private partnership processes for the purchase of electricity or the modernization of plants by the Authority, through its own regulations to that effect, which processes shall be defrayed by the Authority itself.
(4) Fiscal matters.— PREPA shall take fiscally responsible and feasible measures to guarantee its operations as an entity whose service and existence is closely related to the security of the Island’s operations.
(5) Electricity rates.— PREPA shall establish a schedule with clear and specific parameters in order to achieve a permanent reduction in electricity rates.
(6) Reserve margin.— PREPA shall fix, subject to the Commission’s review and approval, the optimal reserve margin for Puerto Rico, taking into account the best industry practices as well as the geographic and electricity infrastructure realities of Puerto Rico, and work to maintain such reserve, thus ensuring the continuity and reliability of the electric power service in Puerto Rico.
(7) Renewable energy.— PREPA shall maximize the use of renewable energy, in compliance with the applicable Commonwealth and Federal laws, ensuring its integration into the electric power grid in a safe and reliable manner and guaranteeing the stability of the Island’s energy transmission and distribution network, for example, by installing the necessary equipment and technology to ensure the connection of renewable energy sources to the electric power grid, or establishing alternate manners of operating the electric power grid, thus mitigating the instability that this type of energy may cause to such grid. Said installation shall be completed and incorporated into the Integrated Resource Plan so that other long-term planning options are not excluded and PREPA’s finances are not compromised. PREPA shall oversee that the integration of renewable energy meets the requirements set forth in §§ 8121 et seq. of Title 12 and take the necessary measures to ensure compliance therewith. PREPA shall also promote the direct use of renewable energy by its customers, particularly by expediting and simplifying any transaction, process, or requirement in connection with residential and commercial small rooftop solar projects of less than twenty-five kilowatts (25 kW). It shall oversee compliance with those simplified transactions, processes, and requirements in all of PREPA’s regions and, if practicable, it shall establish a financing mechanism to contribute to its development.
(8) Distributed generation.— The Authority shall identify the most effective and economic manners to make the electric power infrastructure of Puerto Rico more distributed and sustainable, and promote the use and strategic integration of sustainable energy technologies and practices. In carrying out such duty, the Authority shall carry out the planning, construction, and update of the distribution systems to achieve the highest integration of renewable distributed generation.
(9) Environmental regulations.— PREPA shall be timely and fully compliant with all applicable environmental legislation and regulations, including, but not limited to the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (M.A.T.S.), which are monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
(b) The Energy RELIEF Plan shall be subject to the following conditions:
The Energy RELIEF Action Plan shall be drafted and submitted to the Commission within a term that shall not exceed sixty (60) days after the approval of the regulations of the Commission for such purposes. If the Plan is not filed within such term, it shall be understood that PREPA failed to comply with the mandates of §§ 191—217 of this title;
the Plan shall comply with the guidelines set forth by the Commission based on standards set forth by specialized entities such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Electric Power Research Institute (ERI), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other entities that define practices established for the electric power industry;
the Plan shall define the projected configuration of Puerto Rico’s energy system;
the Plan shall detail Puerto Rico’s diversified energy portfolios and implement the requirements provided under §§ 191—217 of this title, §§ 8121 et seq. of Title 12, and any other applicable law;
the Plan shall establish the estimated dates on which the energy portfolio shall be effectively and fully implemented, setting the date in which every individual project shall become operational, and defining the impact on the cost of energy as the energy system evolves, subject to the timetables provided under §§ 191—217 of this title and other laws related to the public policy on energy.
the Plan shall state in detail the required events, the implementation agenda, and the execution costs, together with the definition of an integrated program to fulfill the purposes and comply with the mandates of §§ 191—217 of this title and other laws related to the public policy on energy;
the Plan shall establish a documentation and progress report filing mechanism according to the guidelines set forth by the Commission;
the Commission shall evaluate and approve the Energy RELIEF Plan submitted by PREPA within a term that shall not exceed sixty (60) days;
if the Commission deems it necessary to make any changes to the Plan, PREPA shall resubmit the amended plan for the Commission’s approval within a term that shall not exceed thirty (30) days, in accordance with the rules provided in this subsection.
(c) New transparent bill.— The Authority shall design and submit to the Energy Commission a new electric bill for each class of customer of the Authority. Said bill shall itemize the categories of the different charges and credits to customers, including the adjustment for fuel purchase and the adjustment for energy purchase from co-generators and renewable energy producers, net metering credit, the contribution in lieu of taxes, and subsidies created under special laws, the Transition Charges (as such term is defined in Chapter IV of this Act,) and the Base Rate Charge, which shall include the account service and management fee, energy consumption charge, operating expenses, energy theft, electricity loss, debt payment not included in the Transition Charge, accounts receivables from the public sector, accounts receivables from the private sector, and any other charge that has an impact on the bill of residential and commercial customers. Any other detail in connection with rates and charges that the Commission deems should not be included in the bill shall be published and explained on the websites of the Authority and the Commission. The new bill shall be totally transparent and shall be approved by the Commission, provided that it complies with the rules established by §§ 191—217 of this title. The new bill shall not include or encompass any other charge or fee under the fuel purchase and energy purchase items other than that approved by the Commission in accordance with the mandates of §§ 191—217 of this title and the Energy Transformation and RELIEF Act, §§ 1051 of this title.
(d) Financial innovation.— Actively promote initiatives, in coordination with the pertinent government agencies and instrumentalities such as the Economic Development Bank, the Government Development Bank, and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, to promote the retention at the local level of the payments made by PREPA to its goods and services suppliers.
(e) Commission.— Comply with every mandate, order, rule, administrative determination, request, and penalty established by the Commission in the exercise of its duties of regulating and overseeing Puerto Rico’s electric power system.
(f) Others.— Comply with all the applicable statutory provisions, including those imposed under §§ 191—217 of this title, among others.
(g) Failure to comply with responsibilities.— If PREPA fails to timely submit the Energy RELIEF Plan, if its content is vague, does not conform to the requirements under this Section or does not conform to the rules or orders of the Commission, the Commission shall have a term of up to ninety (90) days to write, approve, and implement an Energy RELIEF Plan which meets the requirements and provisions of this section.
(h) Integrated resource plan.—
(1) In general.— PREPA shall adopt an integrated resource plan consisting of a twenty (20)-year planning period. The first integrated resource plan shall be filed for the Commission’s review and approval within one (1) year counted as of July 1st, 2014. The integrated resource plan shall be revised every three (3) years to show changes in the energy market conditions, the environmental regulations, fuel prices, capital costs, and other factors; Provided, That in the case of a substantial change in the energy demand or group of resources, such review process shall be carried out before the three (3) years provided herein to respond to and/or mitigate such changes. Any amendment to the integrated resource plan shall also be filed for the Commission’s review and approval. The integrated resource plan shall be consistent with all the mandates of §§ 191—217 of this title and shall follow the best practices in electric power industry integrated resource planning.
(2) Every integrated resource plan shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) A range of future demand forecasts established by using methods that examine the effect of economic factors on electricity consumption as well as the effect of the use of lands under the Land Use Plan for Puerto Rico in effect, and the trend changes in the amount, type, and efficiency of electricity, and its end-use.
(B) An evaluation of the conservation resources available in the market, including the management of electricity demand, as well as an evaluation of the programs in effect and the necessary programs to improve energy conservation.
(C) An evaluation of the range of conventional and non-conventional generation technologies available in the market.
(D) An evaluation of the transmission capacity and reliability of the system.
(E) A comparative evaluation of the energy supply resources, including transmission and distribution.
(F) An evaluation of the combination of resources designated to promote energy sources diversification; stabilize energy costs; and improve the reliability and stability of the electric power grid.
(G) An evaluation of the existing electric power plants or facilities of PREPA that takes into account the improvements in the operational efficiency of plants, the useful life of existing plants, and the retirement date and decommissioning costs thereof, if applicable.
(H) Evaluation of the environmental impacts of PREPA related to air emissions and water consumption, solid waste, and other environmental factors.
(I) Evaluation of the interconnection of renewable energy projects and other independent power producers to the electric power grid, to comply with Act No. 82-2010.
(3) Energy Commission.— The integrated resource plan shall be evaluated and approved by the Commission and may not be eliminated or altered by any subsequent PREPA Board without first carrying out, and thus evidencing, a plan review process, before the Commission. The Commission shall issue all the necessary rules to be followed by PREPA to devise its integrated resource plan, which shall include an evaluation plan of PREPA’s effectiveness in attaining the goals set.
(4) Measurements and parameters.— The plan shall include the typical performance measurements of the electric power industry such as, but not limited to: revenue per kilowatt-hour (kWh), operating and maintenance expenses per kilowatt-hour, operating and maintenance expenses of the distribution system per customer, customer service expenses per customer, general and administrative expenses per customer, energy sustainability, emissions, total amount of energy used annually in Puerto Rico, total amount of energy used annually per capita, total amount of energy used annually per capita in urban areas, total amount of energy used annually per capita in non-urban areas, total energy cost per capita, total energy cost per capita in urban areas, and total energy cost per capita in non-urban areas. These measurements shall also measure PREPA’s performance in complying with the mandates of §§ 191—217 of this title, particularly with all that pertains to its effectiveness in complying with its electric power company duties. To achieve this, a comparative analysis of other electric power companies similar to PREPA in size and operations, shall be conducted, and shall be considered and adjusted taking into account the differences and geographic challenges of our electric power infrastructure.
(5) Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office.— The Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office shall evaluate the first integrated resource plan and submit recommendations to the Commission, but only the Commission shall have jurisdiction to approve the resource plan. Every two (2) years, as of the filing of the first integrated resource plan, PREPA shall make a presentation to the Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office to show that the integrated resource plan is consistent with the policy on energy of Puerto Rico as well as PREPA’s compliance therewith. PREPA shall consult with the personnel of the Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office and identify citizen participation mechanisms during the development process of any integrated resource plan.
History —May 2, 1941, No. 83, p. 684, added as § 6C on May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 2.9; renumbered as § 6-B and amended on Feb. 16, 2016, No. 4, § 11.