LUMA Energy President and CEO, Wayne Stinsby, on Sunday refused to answer several questions from representatives during a public hearing before the Economic Development Committee, as part of an investigation into the contract between the Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and LUMA Energy, claiming that it represents a private company and that it She does not have to provide the information they requested.
Rep. Luis Raul Torres Cruz, who chairs the Economic Development Committee, rejected Stensby’s claim; Raphael Hernandez Montañez, Speaker of the House of Representatives, both are legislators elected by the People’s Democratic Party (PPD); Denise Marquez, spokesperson for the Puerto Rico Independence Party (PIP), and Mariana Nogales, spokeswoman for Movement Victoria Ciudadana (MVC), who agreed that the LUMA Energy contract to operate the transmission and distribution system of PREPA is to be paid from public funds and thus from the legislature has jurisdiction On this issue and may require information.
Representatives of the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Dignity Project (PD), which are part of the Economic Development Committee, exempted themselves from participating in Sunday’s session, which lasted more than six hours.
The public hearing was plagued with sound problems and the hearing of translations between English into Spanish in conjunction with what lawmakers requested and what Stinsby replied.
It is paid from public funds
“The contract with LUMA Energy is being paid for with public money,” said Torres Cruz on several occasions during the hearing, who also clashed with Stensby by requesting information about Quanta and ATCO, the owners of LUMA Energy.
Quanta and ATCO hold a 50% stake in LUMA, which has been selected to operate and maintain PREPA for 15 years, effective June 1, 2021, in a contract approved by the PREPA Board of Directors in less than an hour.
At the hearing, Stensby refused even to name the LUMA Energy board members. “I’m not going to answer that question,” Stensby said on several occasions to various questions from actors.
Other questions that Stensby refused to answer were his wife’s name, how much salary he got from his last job, how much he would be paid as president of LUMA Energy and who would appoint him to the position, regardless of saying they are a shareholder of Quanta and ATCO.
Stensby said the money to pay the salaries comes from Luma Energy, but it has never accepted it as public money, said actor Torres Cruz.
Stensby confirmed that he is a shareholder of ATCO. He stated that he did not remember when he was appointed president of LUMA and did not respond to who or who appointed him to the position.
Luma Energy was established on January 17, 2020, but at the hearing it emerged that since at least January 15, Stensby has represented her at a meeting.
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They request the intervention of Governor Pierreloyesi
“There is no doubt that the contract deal between PREPA and LUMA Energy is riddled with breaches. Our summoning Pedro Pierluisi is to take action on this matter and not ignore this deal,” said the Chamber’s president, Hernandez Montañez.
“The discussion in recent weeks is that this is a contract that benefits a company and that one part of the irresponsible people from the Puerto Rican government participated in this Leonin contract,” Marquez said.
A spokesperson for the PIP Chamber said, “They do not answer anything in the presentation” that the LUMA Energy Chair made to the Economic Development Committee.
Marquez said that although PREPA’s assets have not been privatized, if they are “turned over to a private company” and at this point there is no certainty about how many employees are hired or how much they will be paid.
For his part, Stensby said that those who keep the same seats will not get less salaries.
However, the contract with LUMA Energy means that collective agreements are canceled and there is no obligation to hire PREPA personnel, but only to conduct an interview, Marquez said.
“This contract is Leonin. The PIP representative said it gives a special tax treatment to LUMA Energy.
Marquez denounced the mismanagement of government departments by PREPA, but also highlighted “how thousands of employees have shown their faces” to Puerto Rico in emergency situations. It was this electricity company that supplied the energy to the country. It provides service in all places. “
Deadline for submitting documents
Torres Cruz gave Stensby two calendar days to present various information to the Economic Development Committee, including records of LUMA Energy meetings, copies of written and electronic communications between him and government officials, and warned him that if he did not comply with the requirements he would ask the Chamber for permission to go to court to request the information.
It gave you five days to file a criminal record, wherever you work for Quanta, ATCO or LUMA.
On the other hand, Torres Cruz asked Stainsby if he knew the former governor Ricardo Rossello, to whom the LUMA chief told him “no”. Then he said that he did not remember whether he had met Rosillo.
He confirmed that he had met the incumbent Governor Pierluesi twice this year and that he had met with him and all the governor’s candidates before the elections. He also confirmed that he met José Ortiz while he was Director of PREPA.
Regarding payment for the contract, starting from the second year of the same LUMA will receive a flat payment of $ 105 million for its services.
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