The president and chief executive officer of LUMA Energy, Wayne Stensby, refused this Sunday to answer several questions from representatives during a public hearing before the Economic Development Commission, as part of the Research of the contract between the Authority of ‘Energia Eléctrica (AEE) and LUMA Energy, alleging that it represents a private company and that it should not give the information requested.
This claim of Stensby was rejected by the representative Luis Raul Towers Cross, who presides over the Commission of Economic Development; Rafael Hernández Montañez, president of the House of Representatives, both legislators elected by the Popular Democratic Party (PPD); Denis Márquez, spokeswoman for the Puerto Rican Independentist Party (PIP), and Mariana Nogales, spokeswoman for the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC), agreed that LUMA Energy’s contract to operate the EEA’s transmission and distribution system is it pays with public funds and therefore the Legislature has jurisdiction over the matter and may require information.
Representatives for the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Dignity Project (PD) who are part of the Economic Development Commission apologized for participating in this Sunday’s hearing, which lasted for more than six hours.
The public hearing was full of sound problems and that translations between English and Spanish could be heard coinciding with what lawmakers were asking and what Stensby was answering.
Paid with public funds
“The contract with LUMA Energy is paid for with public funds,” Torres Creu said on several occasions during the hearing, who also clashed with Stensby in demanding information about the Quanta and ATCO companies, which are the owners of LUMA Energy .
Quanta and ATCO each have a 50 percent stake in LUMA, which was selected to operate and maintain for 15 years in the EEA, as of June 1, 2021, in a contract that approved the AEE Board of Directors less than an hour away.
At the hearing Stensby declined to say even the names of the members of the Board of Directors of LUMA Energy. “I will not answer that question,” Stensby said on several occasions to various questions from representatives.
Other questions Stensby declined to answer were his wife’s name, how much he received as a salary in his last job, how much he would be paid as president of LUMA Energy, and who appointed him to office. part of saying they were the shareholders of Quanta and ATCO.
Stensby said the money to pay salaries came from Luma Energy, but never accepted that they were public funds, as proposed by Representative Torres Cruz.
Stensby if confirmed that he is a shareholder of ATCO. He has stated that he did not remember when he was appointed President of LUMA and did not answer the name of who or who appointed him to the post.
Luma Energy was incorporated on January 17, 2020, but in the audience it came to light that at least since January 15 Stensby represented it at a meeting.
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They call for the intervention of Governor Pierluisi
“There is no doubt that the transaction of the contract between the AEE and LUMA Energy is full of irregularities. Our location Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia is to take action on the matter and not disregard this transaction,” said the President of the Chamber, Hernández Montañez.
“The discussion in recent weeks is that this is a contract that benefits a company and a party of irresponsible Puerto Rican government participated in this Leonese contract,” Márquez said for his part.
“They do not answer anything in the presentation” presented by the President of LUMA Energy before the Commission on Economic Development, said the PIP chamber spokesman.
Márquez said that although the assets of the EEA are not privatized, if “they are handed over to a private company” already at this point there is no certainty of how many employees have been hired or how much they will be paid.
For his part, Stensby said no less will be paid to those who retain the same places.
However, the contract with LUMA Energy implies that the collective agreements are canceled and there is no obligation to hire EEA employees, but only to interview, Márquez said.
“This contract is from León. It gives special contributory deals to LUMA Energy,” the PIP representative argued.
Márquez censured the mismanagement that has existed in the EEA by government administrations, but also highlighted how “thousands of employees have faced” for Puerto Rico in emergencies. “This electric corporation was the one that energized the country. And it serves everywhere.”
Deadline for delivering documents
Torres Creu gave Stensby a two-calendar-day deadline to provide various information to the Economic Development Commission, including minutes of LUMA Energy meetings, copies of written and electronic communications between him and government officials. , and warned him that if he did not comply with the requirements he would ask the House to authorize him to go to court to ask for the information.
He was given five days to provide a Criminal Record certificate, wherever he has worked for Quanta, ATCO or LUMA.
On the other hand, Torres Cruz asked Stensby if he knew the former governor Ricardo Rosselló, to whom the President of LUMA said “no”. He then said he did not remember if he had met with Roussillon.
Yes he confirmed that he met twice with the current governor Pierluisi this year and that he met with him and all the candidates for governor before the election. He also confirmed that he met with José Ortiz while he was director of the EEA.
As for payment for the contract, from the second year of the same LUMA will receive a fixed payment of $ 105 million for its services.