Puerto Rico lawmakers probe slow FEMA reimbursements, split oversight as agencies report gains on power-restoration projects

Puerto Rico’s House Government Commission heard two days of testimony on Sept. 22 focused on the island’s electrical-grid reconstruction, including how FEMA FAST funds have been obligated and reconciled and which agencies oversee project decisions. Officials reported measurable progress on generating capacity and battery projects, but lawmakers and the authority said the utility operator Luma has fallen behind on documentation and reconciliations needed to convert federal advances into reimbursements.

The hearing brought officials from Genera (generation operator), the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica, AE or PREPA), Luma (transmission and distribution operator), and the Commonwealth’s Federal Recovery office (COR3). Genera representatives told the commission they have returned more than 1,200 megawatts of generating capacity to service since July 2023, and that several major units — including a Palo Seco unit already in testing — are scheduled to enter service in coming weeks. Genera also said it has obligated projects under FEMA FAST and signed major battery storage contracts it described as central to reliability improvements.

Authority and recovery-office witnesses described how FEMA’s FAST program (Section 428 of the Stafford Act) and related mitigation funding (Section 406) were consolidated into a single prioritized list submitted to FEMA at the end of July. Mary Zapata, executive director of the Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica, told lawmakers…