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Cathy Kunkel
Energy Finance Analyst Cathy Kunkel has written reports and given expert testimony on the finances of Appalachian natural gas pipelines and drilling; electric utility mergers, rates and resource planning; energy efficiency; and Puerto Rico’s electrical system. She has degrees in physics from Princeton and Cambridge.
FOMB approval highlights five years of its failure to solve budget problems
The Federal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) and the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) have each approved budgets for the electrical system for the fiscal year 2022. The FOMB’s budget demonstrates its abject failure since its inception to produce a transparent budget that demonstrates progress on savings initiatives and meeting the commonwealth’s renewable energy goals. […]
La aprobación por la JSAF pone de relieve cinco años de su fracaso en resolver problemas presupuestarios
La Junta de Supervisión y Administración Financiera para Puerto Rico (JSAF) y el Negociado de Energía de Puerto Rico (NEPR) han aprobado presupuestos para el sistema eléctrico para el año fiscal 2022. El presupuesto de la JSAF demuestra su abyecto fracaso desde su creación para producir un presupuesto transparente que demuestre el progreso en las […]
FOMB privatization plan pushes electrical workers to the margins
May 12, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼ Why is the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) of Puerto Rico aggressively pushing a grid privatization contract that threatens to destroy the one asset the electrical system has—its workforce—while raising costs for the bankrupt island government? LUMA Energy is scheduled to take over the non-generation functions of the Puerto […]
Huge consulting fees highlight systemic problems with reform of island utility
April 29, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼ The transformation and financial restructuring of Puerto Rico’s bankrupt electric power authority have generated more than $440 million in consulting contracts during the last seven years and could cost island residents more than $1 billion before completion, according to a study released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and […]
Las enormes comisiones de consultoría ponen de relieve los problemas sistémicos con la reforma de la utilidad de la isla
29 de abril de 2021 (IEEFA) – La transformación y reestructuración financiera de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de Puerto Rico en bancarrota ha generado más de $440 millones en contratos de consultoría durante los últimos siete años y podría costar a los residentes de la isla más de $1,000 millones antes de su finalización, […]
Contractor that promised savings set to exceed budget even before taking over
Puerto Rico’s key electrical system privatization initiative has been a longshot to save money for the people of Puerto Rico—and the odds are getting longer, according to an analysis of the 15-year contract with LUMA Energy and its proposed budgets for the next three years. An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) review […]
Contratista que prometió ahorros superará el presupuesto incluso antes de hacerse cargo de la red
La iniciativa clave de privatización del sistema eléctrico de Puerto Rico ha sido una posibilidad remota para ahorrar dinero al pueblo de Puerto Rico, y las probabilidades se están haciendo más lejanas, según un análisis del contrato de 15 años con LUMA Energy y sus presupuestos propuestos para los próximos tres años. Una revisión del […]
O’Halleran legislation aims to cushion economic losses caused by plant closures
April 2, 2021 (IEEFA) — The recently introduced New Promise Act, sponsored by Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., marks a potentially important step forward in recognizing the need for a federal commitment to economic revitalization in communities that have been hard-hit by the decline of the coal economy. The bill, inspired by the closure of the […]
Investing in renewables would lower costs, reduce price-volatility and provide resiliency to Puerto Rico
March 10, 2021 (IEEFA)—Investing $9.6 billion in distributed solar panels and batteries—funds that are already available from the federal government—could transform Puerto Rico’s electrical system into a resilient grid that provides every home on the island with a clean, reliable source of energy, according to a report released today. The report by Puerto Rico organization […]
Falling demand, legal and regulatory challenges spell financial peril for pipeline project
March 8, 2021 (IEEFA) — A 303-mile pipeline that would move natural gas from the Appalachian Basin to markets in the eastern and southern U.S. is in financial jeopardy because of reduced demand projections and legal challenges, according to a report released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The Mountain […]
IEEFA: Proposed budget for Puerto Rico’s electricity system fails test of balance, compliance and transparency
FOMB approval highlights five years of its failure to solve budget problems
The Federal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) and the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) have each approved budgets for the electrical system for the fiscal year 2022. The FOMB’s budget demonstrates its abject failure since its inception to produce a transparent budget that demonstrates progress on savings initiatives and meeting the commonwealth’s renewable energy goals. […]