The protesters marched on the governor’s mansion, where they raised Puerto Rican flags and held up signs warning that an increase in electricity bills would cause an unsustainable rise in the island’s already high cost of living.
The proposal for the increase is part of a debt restructuring plan that would bring the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority out of bankruptcy, an initiative that has failed on many occasions, as bondholders threaten to sue to recover your investments. If approved, the current residential rate of 25 cents per kilowatt-hour would nearly double within 30 years.
A federal judge overseeing bankruptcy proceedings held a hearing Wednesday on the matter after delaying approval of the debt restructuring plan.
Electricity prices for homes in Puerto Rico are currently nearly double what they cost on the US mainland, while industrial and commercial rates are more than double, according to the Puerto Rico Energy Information Administration. USA.
Fear of higher electricity bills prompted many to join Wednesday’s protest, including the Rev. Lizzette Gabriel, bishop of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico.
“The more increases in the cost of energy, the less money the family has to survive, and not everyone has money to put up a solar system,” he said.
Gabriel is concerned that higher electricity bills will lead to the closure of small businesses and reduced services by churches. More than 40% of Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million people live below the poverty line, compared to 19% in Mississippi, the poorest state in the United States.
Many Puerto Ricans are also furious over the proposed increase, given ongoing blackouts blamed on a dilapidated power grid that has not been properly maintained and rebuilt since Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory in September 2017. On Wednesday Blackouts were reported across the island amid heavy rain and lightning generated by a strong tropical wave in the region.
Cristina Miranda Palacios, general director of the League of Cities of Puerto Rico, —a non-profit activist organization_, said that the proposed increase is neither fair nor acceptable.
“It is inconceivable that the people, including the most marginalized and economically disadvantaged populations, have to assume this cost for a highly questionable quality service,” he said.
FUENTE: Associated Press
