House hearing on bill to expand DACO oversight of rooftop solar exposes jurisdiction and resource gaps

Representative Edgar Robles Rivera, president of the House committee on consumer affairs, opened a public hearing on Proyecto 193 — a measure to amend the Ley Orgánica del Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO) to give the agency explicit authority to regulate sales and acquisition contracts for distributed generation systems, with or without energy storage.

The proposal drew sharply different perspectives from consumer-protection officials, energy regulators and the solar industry. Licenciada Yasiris Torres Rivera, speaking for the Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor, told the committee that “el DACO carece de jurisdicción expresa para reglamentar y fiscalizar de manera efectiva la venta y adquisición de sistemas de generación distribuida en Puerto Rico.” She said DACO’s present authority is largely limited to advertising and promotional practices and that taking on technical or interconnection disputes would require new rules, specialized staff and funding.

Antonio Torres Miranda, comisionado asociado del Negociado de Energía de Puerto Rico, said the Negociado supports consumer-protection goals but warned the bill must not be read to displace the Negociado’s technical jurisdiction. “Estimamos recomendable que se aclare de forma expresa que las facultades conferidas al DACO mediante el proyecto no deben entenderse como una limitación e interferencia ni desplazamiento de la autoridad conferida al negociado de energía,” Torres Miranda said, citing articles of Ley 57 de 2014 that assign technical, tariff and interconnection authority to the Negociado.

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