Genera presents four-project plan to shore up Puerto Rico’s power supply before summer

Genera, the private operator handling generation assets for Puerto Rico’s power authority, told the Comisión de Proyectos Estratégicos y Energía on March 21 that a four‑part work plan should materially reduce forced outages and increase available capacity ahead of the summer peak.

Daniel Hernández, vicepresidente de operaciones de Genera, read the company’s status report and schedule, saying that on June 30, 2023 the authority’s generating fleet was operating at roughly 46% of installed capacity with forced outages near 32%. "Al treinta de junio del veinte veintitrés la condición de la flota... presentaba índices de desempeño deficientes, una capacidad de generación limitada, un cuarenta y seis por ciento del total de la capacidad, y... un treinta y dos por ciento de salidas forzadas," Hernández said. To address that shortfall, Genera outlined four projects: short‑term repairs, replacement of critical components (estimated $124 million), replacement of reserve “picker” units (projected ~$800 million), and 430 MW of battery storage (estimated ~$700 million).

Genera said the component‑replacement package and the larger projects have FEMA backing and approval from the Negociado de Energía. Hernández described an aggressive maintenance program intended to increase Genera’s own available capacity from about 1,833 MW at takeover to nearly 3,000 MW by July, before adding private producers such as AES and Ecoeléctrica to reach an integrated system capacity of roughly 4,000 MW for the high‑demand season.

Lawmakers repeatedly pressed Genera on timing, contingency and documentation. The commission’s president asked for clear evidence the company can meet its dates and warned against further delays: "Aquí no se puede tolerar ningún retraso adicional de nada," the president said. Genera acknowledged past extensions of work scope — for example, Costa Azul’s repair required additional parts after crews opened the machine — and attributed some delays to long lead times for legacy components that must be custom‑manufactured.

On procurement, Genera said it reconfigured the original picker replacement plan to separate equipment purchase from permitting, decommissioning and environmental work, arguing the change will save about 20% compared with the original scope. Regarding FEMA‑supplied temporary generation, Genera and commission members said recent negotiations secured the sale/transfer of portable units to the authority, keeping roughly 350 MW of temporary generation on the island. Iván Báez, vice president of government and public affairs at Genera, called the retention "a triumph for the people of Puerto Rico," noting FEMA had transferred funds into Genera’s accounts for projects under execution.

Genera described the battery program as critical to reducing load shedding: the company told the commission the 430 MW / 4‑hour project can supply instantaneous response (in less than one second) and "más del noventa por ciento de los relevos de carga por falta de generación desaparecerán una vez las baterías estén en operación comercial." Genera plans to site batteries on existing plant brownfields (Aguirre, Costa Sur, Yabucoa, Cambalache/Arecibo) to speed permitting, and expects the first battery installations within the rollout timeline it presented.

Officials provided specific maintenance target dates for units expected back in service: Palo Seco unit 3 by May 30; Aguirre unit 1 by April 15; Costa Sur unit 6 by April 5. The company said the picker procurement would be awarded in April and that replacements and battery installations would proceed in parallel, though some projects (component replacements) have multi‑year vendor lead times and a two‑year horizon to full completion.

The commission asked Genera to supply procurement lists, project flowcharts for FEMA‑funded purchases, battery siting maps and a project‑management breakdown of component replacements. The panel scheduled three ocular inspections of plants on the dates the company provided and recessed after agreeing those follow‑up steps. No formal vote was taken during the hearing.

Why it matters: Puerto Rico’s households and hospitals face elevated risk during peak summer demand and storms; the company’s plan, if executed on schedule, would add capacity and resilience while lowering production costs over time. The commission signaled it will monitor progress closely and visit plants to validate milestone completion.

The commission recessed after setting inspection dates and an information request; Genera committed to provide the requested documents and to receive the delegation on the stated dates.