Puerto Rico's Independent Procurement Office steps back from temporary generation talks as fight over who ran the Power Expectations fiasco erupts

The Independent Procurement Office (3PPO) — the entity legally required to direct and certify any temporary power generation contract in Puerto Rico — has asked the government to take it off the negotiating table. Its president, Osvaldo Carlo Linares, recommended that either the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE) or the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP) take direct control of the process to contract new temporary generation, or that officials determine whether a completely new bidding round is needed ¹. The request comes amid state and federal investigations into the failed $5.887 billion Power Expectations contract, and just as the other two finalists from the original process — Gothams Energy and Javelin Global Commodities — are demanding more favorable terms to return to the negotiating table ¹.

The process grew out of the urgent need to add margin to a power grid plagued by massive blackouts and a structural capacity deficit. The AEE put out to bid 400 megawatts (MW) of temporary generation for the Aguirre plant, valued at an estimated $5.886 billion over a decade. Three companies competed: Power Expectations, Gothams Energy and Javelin Global Commodities. After evaluating the three proposals, the 3PPO concluded that none fully met the request-for-proposals requirements, but it nonetheless recommended splitting the generation need among the three bidders ¹. The Power Expectations contract — approved by the Energy Bureau and conditionally approved by the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF) — ended up revoked by the Board itself on August 15, after E Rock Inc., the parent company of one of the subcontractors, alleged in June that Power Expectations had presented a fraudulent agreement without its authorization ¹.

Since then, the case has unleashed a political fight over who actually ran the negotiations. Carlo Linares testified on September 16 before the House Government Commission that although Energy Czar Josue Colon — director of the AAPP — was not physically present at negotiation meetings, "his staff participated in everything related to the negotiation," including constant communication over chat ²³. That account contradicts Colon's earlier testimony, in which he said he was unaware of the fraud allegations and had not been present when the contract was signed. Representative Hector Ferrer Santiago requested a perjury referral, and Government Commission chair Victor Pares Otero is weighing summoning Colon a second time ². That same September 21, former AEE executive director Mary Carmen Zapata Acosta testified that she resigned on September 4 because handling of the Power Expectations case — particularly her interactions with legal advisor Juan Ramon Gonzalez Galarza over information requests — had affected her health and her family's; she clarified that her departure was voluntary, with no pressure from the Governing Board, Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon, or the Secretary of State ⁴.

What this means for you

It may sound like a fight confined to Fortaleza and legislative chambers, but it hits directly at your wallet and at how reliable the power supply is. The temporary generation being negotiated — or not negotiated — is exactly what's supposed to plug the capacity gaps behind today's scheduled and unscheduled blackouts across the island. Every week that passes without clarity on who is directing the process — 3PPO, AEE, or AAPP — is a week less to get 400 MW of needed capacity online before peak-consumption season gets worse. If the process restarts from zero with a brand-new bidding round, the timeline to have that capacity running stretches out by months, maybe years, while the island keeps leaning on already-overloaded Genera PR units and thinner generation margins.

How to follow it / Checklist

1. Watch the House Government Commission's public hearings — they're open to the public and streamed via the Legislative Assembly's site and outlets like NotiUno and WIPR.
2. Request certified transcripts of Josue Colon's and Osvaldo Carlo's testimonies from the Government Commission's office; they are public records.
3. Check the Energy Bureau's portal (energia.pr.gov) to see whether a new bid or an amendment to the temporary generation process is filed — bid documents and calendars are posted there.
4. If you're worried about blackout impact, monitor Genera PR's daily generation-margin bulletins, which reflect whether the lack of new temporary capacity is squeezing the reserve.
5. Keep records of any damages caused by power interruptions while the temporary generation process remains unresolved; they may matter later if delays tied to the contract paralysis are documented.

What's next

The government has to decide, almost immediately, whether AEE or AAPP will take over negotiations with Gothams and Javelin, or whether the process gets declared void and a fresh bidding round begins — either path determines how much longer Puerto Rico goes without the additional 400 MW of temporary generation. The House Government Commission is weighing a second summons for Josue Colon following the contradictions Carlo Linares raised, and the perjury referral requested by Representative Ferrer Santiago is moving forward. State and federal investigations into the Power Expectations contract remain open, and more testimony — potentially including from Gothams and Javelin representatives about their new demands — is expected to surface in the coming weeks.