Puerto Rico New Fortress Claim Hits US$100M

PUERTO RICO · ENERGY

Puerto Rico has raised its New Fortress claim to about US$100 million, the head of the island’s gas contract administrator told a House committee on Monday 19 October 2026. The claim covers diesel burned when the company did not deliver the liquefied natural gas (LNG) for San Juan’s power units, and the energy regulator says customers have paid none of it so far.

For US readers the case tests who pays when a private fuel supplier fails a US territory, because the dispute sits before a US federal court and officials say recent events were also referred to federal prosecutors. Puerto Rico’s residents are US citizens, so the result will reach the power bills of American households and businesses on the island.

We covered the opening of the fight in Puerto Rico Pays US$1.25 Million a Day for Gas Delay. The new figure, officials say, adds up every occasion on which gas failed to arrive.

How the New Fortress Claim Grew to US$100 Million

Osvaldo Carlo Linares, who heads the Third-Party Procurement Office (3PPO) that administers the gas contract on behalf of Genera PR, the operator of the public power plants, said an amended complaint was being filed that day. He called the figure of about US$100 million the estimate used for the filing, and said it covers every incident in which missing gas forced the island to burn costlier fuel.

The earlier claim was filed in June and stood at US$55.3 million in El Vocero’s account, while NotiCel put it at about US$58 million. El Vocero said the new filing adds more than US$40 million, and NotiCel said recent costs account for more than US$30 million, so the total is an estimate and not an audited sum.

El Vocero said the first claim covered diesel burned at units 5 and 6 of the San Juan combined-cycle plant and at temporary units at Palo Seco. Carlo Linares put diesel at three to four times the price of gas, which is why each gap in supply costs so much.

Why Customers Have Not Paid Yet

Energy Bureau president Edison Avilés Deliz said on Tuesday 20 October, according to NotiCel, that “consumers to date have not paid a single cent” of the claim. At the hearing on 19 October he said the Bureau had kept about US$58 million out of the fuel reconciliation, and later a further US$17 million, while the contract dispute is examined, and that this pause was not an order to stop paying the supplier.

Avilés Deliz told the House committee that the government must win in court to avoid another rise in the power bill. He said the issue is bigger than whether bills rise, because the system faces a liquidity gap of US$100 million, and Carlo Linares estimated that the case could take one to two years.

The Gas Dispute Behind the Claim

According to the government, New Fortress stopped supplying gas to units 5 and 6 of the San Juan plant on 16 September, and the units have burned diesel since. On Monday 28 September Governor Jenniffer González Colón ordered a lawsuit in the US District Court for Puerto Rico to force the company to open its terminal to a replacement supplier under a clause known as tolling.

On Tuesday 13 October the tanker Amur River reached the company’s San Juan terminal, and Judge María Antongiorgi Jordán denied the power company’s request for a preliminary order. She told it to show cause by 19 October why the case was not moot, and 3PPO now asks for a declaratory judgment on how the clause must work in future outages.

New Fortress did not attend the House hearing on 19 October and excused its summoned executive, who was in New York. Committee chairman José Hernández Concepción said he will issue a new summons with a contempt warning.

In a written statement quoted by El Vocero the company said it has acted in line with its contractual obligations and that any government decision will rest on the contracts and the law. El Nuevo Día reported that the company denies breaching the contract and blames problems on ship access to San Juan Bay, and the claims against it remain allegations that a court has not decided.

Power Rates and the Next Fuel Adjustment

The Energy Bureau approved a rise of 5.28 cents per kilowatt-hour in the fuel and purchased-power charges on Wednesday 30 September, according to El Vocero. Primera Hora put the total rate at 33.86 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the firm Inteligencia Económica estimated the quarter’s extra cost at US$218 million across households, businesses and government.

LUMA Energy told the Bureau in a recent filing that September fuel costs ran above what rates collected, a gap Primera Hora put at US$48 million and El Vocero at US$54.3 million. On Tuesday 20 October the governor called a possible new rise “an outrage” and blamed LUMA, while a LUMA spokesman said the company only passes on the report because generators’ fuel spending exceeded budget, and that LUMA does not use the fuel.

Avilés Deliz said the shortfall must first be studied and gave no date for a decision. The sources reviewed do not say whether this shortfall and the US$100 million claim overlap.

What It Means for You

Visitors and residents pay the October rate already, and a further adjustment is possible but not decided, so the next bills depend on a regulatory ruling with no date. Our guides Puerto Rico Explained for Americans and Puerto Rico Geopolitics Explained 2026 set out how the island’s status shapes decisions like this one.

Inteligencia Económica warned that about 12,000 small firms could close if power stays above 30 cents per kilowatt-hour for two quarters, and said a mid-sized supermarket could pay about US$5,250 more per month. The firm’s figures are its own scenarios, and our earlier report Puerto Rico Natural Gas Dispute Could Add US$48 a Month to Power Bills looked at the household bill.

For investors, the outcome matters for a gas supplier that holds a long contract and a terminal in San Juan. Carlo Linares said that if the government wins it could ask the federal court to seize New Fortress equipment at the Puerto Nuevo terminal, some of it worth up to US$500 million.

What Is Not Known

The amended complaint itself could not be opened for this article, so the US$100 million figure rests on officials’ statements at the hearing as reported by El Vocero and NotiCel. The two outlets differ on the earlier claim and on the size of the increase, and neither gives a court docket number.

It is not known whether the diesel claim and the US$48 million to US$54.3 million shortfall overlap, or when the Bureau will rule on the shortfall. The sources reviewed also do not show when the court will schedule the next step or how New Fortress answers the new figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the New Fortress claim in Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico says New Fortress owes it about US$100 million for diesel burned when gas was not delivered. The figure is an estimate given at a House hearing on 19 October 2026.

Have Puerto Rico customers paid the claim?

The Energy Bureau president said on 20 October that customers have not paid a single cent. He said the amounts stay out of rates while the courts decide who is responsible.

What does New Fortress say about the dispute?

The company says it has acted in line with its contractual obligations and wants a reliable supply. It did not attend the 19 October hearing, and the government’s accusations remain unproven in court.

Could Puerto Rico power bills rise again?

A request from LUMA about a September fuel shortfall of US$48 million to US$54.3 million is before the Energy Bureau. The Bureau president said it must first be studied, and no decision or date exists.

Why does this matter to US readers?

Puerto Rico is a US territory and the case is in a US federal court, with a referral to federal prosecutors reported. The outcome shapes power costs for US citizens, businesses and visitors on the island.

Sources: El Vocero, 19 October 2026; El Vocero, 20 October 2026; El Vocero, 20 October 2026 (governor and LUMA filing); NotiCel, 19 October 2026; NotiCel, 20 October 2026; Primera Hora, 20 October 2026; El Vocero, 14 October 2026; El Vocero, 13 October 2026; El Nuevo Día, 19 October 2026; El Vocero, 28 September 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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