Author Archive: 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.
IEEFA U.S.: Delays, damages and poor service: LUMA Energy’s first two months highlight privatization flaws
Puerto Ricans face challenges in early months of LUMA takeover, highlighting need for stronger oversight
August 16, 2021 (IEEFA)—Failures and frustrations identified in the first two months of LUMA Energy’s operation of Puerto Rico’s energy grid highlight underlying flaws with the privatization contract, according to an analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Since the June 1 takeover, Puerto Ricans have experienced significant problems as a result […]
IEEFA: Puerto Rico’s electric grid suffers series of setbacks under Luma Energy management
Power outages and services delays should raise alarms for the future
More than two weeks into its management of Puerto Rico’s electrical system, private contractor LUMA Energy is not off to a good start. Frequent power outages and service delays have tested the patience of an already over-burdened customer base since LUMA Energy took control of the island’s electric system in a privatization switchover on June […]
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. […]
IEEFA: Consultants poised to make more than $1 billion from bankrupt Puerto Rico utility
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 […]
IEEFA: Puerto Rico has chance to use billions in federal aid for creation of resilient, renewable grid
More than $14 billion in federal funds should be used to increase Puerto Rico renewable sources
Puerto Rico should take advantage of a unique opportunity to deploy billions of dollars of federal funding to create a resilient, decentralized electrical system based on renewable energy—an opportunity that neither the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) nor private operator LUMA Energy has shown any interest in pursuing. That was the core theme of […]