Puerto Rico’s energy sector reforms have, for years now, been the most challenging and politically contentious infrastructure reforms in the United States. Now, the concessionaire operating and rehabilitating the island’s grid is fighting to prevent its concession contract from being outright cancelled via a series of lawsuits from the government. Whether the concession survives will determine the fate of one of the most ambitious utility turnarounds in U.S. history, and perhaps Puerto Rico’s financial recovery as well.
The lawsuits, which originated late last year, were the first signs of a campaign promise bearing fruit. After the recent lawsuits attempting to invalidate the concession were filed in December, Governor Jenniffer González Colón made an astonishing public statement: “I promised I would deliver, and here I am.”
