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Panel says supplemental contract and bankruptcy limit immediate grounds to cancel Luma; legal path requires preparation
Summary
Panelists told reporters the supplemental contract in effect during bankruptcy lacks the original performance metrics and requires proof of three consecutive years of default under contract language (cited as section 14.k); they recommended building evidence and considering legislative options rather than abrupt cancellation.
Panelists at the transition committee press session described legal and contractual obstacles to cancelling or unilaterally rewriting the island's electric operator contract.
Speaker 8 explained the supplemental contract now in force was negotiated to cover the bankruptcy period and "va a estar vigente hasta que termine la quiebra," meaning many original contractual metrics are not currently active. He cited the contract language that would require proving three consecutive years of noncompliance to invoke certain cancellation clauses: "la palabra consecutivo aquí es bien importante... tienes que probarlo," Speaker 8 said.
The panel noted the Negociado de Energeda can impose fines (examples given at the session included amounts of about $2,000, $3,000 and $25,000), but those penalties may be small relative to the operator's scale and do not substitute for the broader enforcement tools missing from the supplemental agreement. "Una multa de veinticinco mil df3lares para una compaf1eda... es como una gota de agua en el oce9ano," Speaker 1 said.
Speakers outlined the legal pathways available: the legislature could change the statutory framework governing agencies and corporate structures, but it cannot itself unilaterally cancel an existing contract. Another route is to compile evidence and renegotiate clauses of the original contract when the bankruptcy process ends; both options take time and carry litigation risk. "Si la gobernadora... ordena la cancelacif3n... luego lo demandan," Speaker 8 said, urging preparation of a plan B for continuity of service and an evidence record to support a challenge.
The committee recommended the incoming governor and legal advisers examine outside legal analyses (some questioners cited a Colegio de Abogados report) and build a clear operational plan in case of any abrupt contractual change. The press session produced recommendations but no formal legal action.
