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Senator presses PPP Authority on transparency and potential conflicts in Luma procurement
Summary
Senate committee questioned the Authority for Public‑Private Partnerships about limited public notice during the RFP stage, whether the legislative mandate was truly 'bipartite,' and whether selection‑committee membership created appearance‑of‑conflict concerns; the Authority agreed to provide procurement regulations and evaluation minutes.
A presiding senator told officials from the Authority for Public‑Private Partnerships that many citizens felt blindsided by the Luma Energy procurement and pressed the Authority to produce records showing when and how the process was communicated to the public.
The senator asked for the Authority's PPP regulation and minutes from the ARFP evaluation process, saying the public did not learn key details until close to contract signing. ‘‘Solicitamos copia del reglamento... Además de eso, necesitamos las minutas del proceso de ARSP de las evaluaciones,’’ the senator said, requesting the materials for committee review.
The senator also disputed the Authority’s characterization of the legislative mandate as "bipartite," saying the House and Senate did not approve the same language and that public participation during the multi‑year competitive process was limited. He raised concerns that members who helped design the procurement may later have roles in oversight, creating an appearance problem. ‘‘¿Cómo un grupo que va a diseñar, va a subastar y va a fiscalizar, pueden estar compuestos de las mismas personas?’’ he asked.
Fermín Fontané and legal adviser Isis Pérez responded that the statutory scheme (Law 29 and Law 120) prescribes committee membership and roles: the Alliance committee evaluates and recommends, but the boards of the Authority and the participating entity and ultimately the governor make final approvals; the Negociado de Energía issues the policy‑compliance certificate. Fontané said parts of the RFP stage are confidential to preserve competition and that the Authority held public status briefings and other outreach during the process.
On federal engagement, the Authority said meetings occurred with FEMA, the fiscal oversight board and individual congressional offices, and that consultants with FEMA experience (including counsel identified as Ernie Abbott of Baker Donelson) assisted to ensure federal funding requirements were addressed.
The senator and the Authority agreed the committee will receive the procurement regulation and the ARFP evaluation materials to review the basis for selection and to compare Luma’s proposal against other offers. The committee indicated it will continue hearings once members have reviewed the documents.
