CNE – Centro Para Una Nueva Economía – Center for a New Economy
Non-profit, economic research and policy development organization
PREPA’s own bond documents show it was already insolvent by 2012, with maintenance cuts eroding the system’s reliability long before LUMA arrived. Both PREPA and LUMA bear responsibility for today’s blackouts.
Recent nostalgia for the old PREPA ignores the record. Its 2012 and 2013 bond documents show an insolvent utility cutting maintenance as reliability fell. We explain how the PREPA-LUMA arrangement works and what can be done.
COVID-19, Hurricane Maria’s slow reconstruction and the Plan of Adjustment pose a threefold challenge for Puerto Rico. Short-term growth depends mostly on federal transfers, which risks setting back a long-term economic strategy.
For more than a century, Puerto Rico has included access to higher education through the operation of the University of Puerto Rico (“UPR”), providing affordable access to high-quality education to thousands. Keep reading for an analysis of some of the most important aspects of the Fiscal Plan for the UPR certified on May 27, 2021.
It has been about three years and eight months since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. It is a good time as any, to take stock of the post-storm reconstruction and recovery process as we approach the beginning of yet another hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.
The FOMB for Puerto Rico certified a new fiscal plan for the central government on Friday, April 23. The new Fiscal Plan, just like the others, is based on four core elements: (1) budget consolidation (spending cuts and revenue increases); (2) structural reforms; (3) debt relief; and (4) federal funding for disaster relief and COVID-19 assistance.
The agreement between PREPA and LUMA Energy for the operation and management of Puerto Rico’s electric grid has been in the public spotlight recently. Many private sector organizations, as well as multiple NGOs, have pointed out the deficiencies of that agreement. Yet, canceling or terminating the agreement with LUMA will not solve Puerto Rico’s electricity problems.
Ponencia del Centro para una Nueva Economía ante la Comisión de Desarrollo Económico, Planificación, Telecomunicaciones, Alianzas Público Privadas y Energía de la Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico. Vista Pública Sobre la R. de la C. 136.
