April 8, 2025
Mr. Hernández introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
To establish a task force to find and expedite solutions to address emergencies and challenges that Puerto Rico faces due to its energy generation challenges.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Puerto Rico Energy Generation Crisis Task Force Act
.
Sec. 2. Establishment of task force
(a) Establishment
There is established in the Executive Office of the President a task force to improve collaboration and efficiency among the Department of Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and appropriate representatives of the Government and energy sector of Puerto Rico.
(b) Members
The task force shall consist of each of the following:
(1)
1 member appointed by the Secretary of Energy.
(2)
1 member appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(3)
1 member appointed by the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers.
(4)
1 member appointed by the Office of the Energy Czar of Puerto Rico.
(5)
3 representatives appointed by the Government of Puerto Rico, to represent the responsibilities and obligations of the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, LUMA Energy, and Genera PR.
(c) Duties
The task force established in subsection (a) shall be responsible for—
(1)
identify and find solutions for the energy generation problems faced by Puerto Rico; and
(2)
coordinating and liaising between the represented entities listed in subsection (a) as appropriate to ensure efficiency in operations and, to the extent practicable, among other relevant groups (such as the Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization Team) working on issues relating to the challenges of energy generation in Puerto Rico.
(d) Meetings
The task force shall convene at least once every 30 days to encourage communication between the represented entities and provide progress updates on the efforts of such entities. The members of the task force shall select from among their numbers a head, who shall be responsible for convening the meetings of the task force and ensuring that the format of such meetings is sufficiently flexible (including by facilitating virtual or hybrid meeting options) to allow meetings be carried out without scheduling delays.
(e) Semi-Annual reports
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the head of the task force selected pursuant to subsection (d) shall submit to Congress and transmit to the President a report describing the efforts of the task force during the preceding period. Such report shall also include—
(1)
descriptions of the energy generation problems identified by the task force;
(2)
recommendations for solutions to address these problems;
(3)
an expected timeline to implement such solutions if pending, or the actual timeline on which such solutions were implemented if accomplished; and
(4)
an identification of the entities responsible for such implementation.