Puerto Rico faces record electric rate as demand and costs increase

Key Points:

• Puerto Rico has implemented a record high residential electric rate of 33.86 cents per kWh, increasing monthly bills by about 18% for an average consumer, effective until at least December 31.
• The rate hike is driven by increased energy consumption due to high summer temperatures, rising global oil prices linked to Middle East conflicts, higher use of customer batteries, and reliance on expensive fuels when power plants underperform.
• Persistent power outages continue nearly a decade after Hurricane Maria devastated the island’s already fragile grid, with recent incidents like a substation fire leaving over 200,000 customers without electricity.
• The Energy Bureau approved the increase while rejecting certain fuel cost pass-throughs related to alleged supply failures by New Fortress Energy and is investigating questionable gas payments made by Luma and Genera PR.
• The rate increase occurs amid ongoing legal disputes as Puerto Rico’s government seeks to cancel Luma Energy’s contract, with the island heavily dependent on petroleum and natural gas for power generation.