New Fortress Energy (NFE) announced that Genera PR LLC (“Genera”), an independently managed subsidiary of NFE, has been selected by the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (“P3A”) for a 10-year Operation and Maintenance Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (“PREPA”).
Headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Genera is a power and energy service provider founded by NFE to support Puerto Rico’s transition to clean, affordable and reliable energy. Under the Agreement, Genera will operate, maintain, decommission and modernize the PREPA-owned thermal power generation system of approximately 3,600 MW after a mobilization period. In this role, Genera will manage the operating budget, fuel contracts and federal funds for the generation fleet on behalf of PREPA.
“All Puerto Ricans deserve access to clean, reliable and low-cost power,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of NFE. “As large investments are made to modernize Puerto Rico’s grid and transition to renewable energy, this partnership will provide meaningful cost savings for consumers and businesses, improve reliability and reduce the environmental impact of an aging thermal generation system. We believe Puerto Rico’s transformation to renewables supported by low-carbon fuel will be a model for markets around the world and a significant step forward in our company’s mission.”
Genera was selected by the P3A after a competitive process that began in May 2020 in compliance with the requirement established by Act 120-2018 (Puerto Rico Electric System Transformation Act). The selection was made based on extensive grading criteria, which included operational experience, technical expertise, approach and methodology and estimated cost savings. The contract has received all necessary regulatory approvals from the government of Puerto Rico, the Fiscal Oversight Management Board and Puerto Rico’s Electricity Bureau.
With this historic step, Puerto Rico guarantees the continuity of the transformation of the island's electrical system, and the transition towards the integration of renewable energy sources as established by the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and Puerto Rico‘s public energy policy.
“This public-private partnership marks a milestone in the island’s energy history,” said the Executive Director of the P3A, Fermín Fontanés Gómez. “Today we achieved full compliance with the Act 120 requirement, to offer Puerto Rico the opportunity to have an electrical power system that can be trusted by the citizens. After this process that lasted more than two years, we can ensure that we are getting closer to reaching the goals established in the IRP, to continue moving towards an energy generation model based on renewable resources. This goal will have an impact on us, but more importantly, it will also impact future generations.”
Over the next several months, Genera will work closely with the government of Puerto Rico and PREPA in the mobilization phase to transfer operations and onboard PREPA’s existing operational workforce.
Key features of Genera’s proposal selected by the P3A include:
- Significant cost-savings for the benefit of Puerto Rico’s ratepayers through fuel management and streamlined operations
- Improved reliability and efficiency across the generation system with a focus on distributed power and microgrids
- Retirement of antiquated power plants while ensuring there is reliable, low-cost and cleaner generation in load centers to support the transition to renewables
- Commitment to local hiring and plans to recruit, train and incentivize employees
