Hundreds in Puerto Rico protest proposed increase in electricity bills #Hundreds #Puerto #Rico #protest #proposed #increase #electricity #bills

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hundreds of people including religious leaders, economists, teachers and retirees on Wednesday protested a proposed increase to already high electric bills that a growing number of people in the U.S. territory are struggling to pay.

The crowd marched toward the governor’s mansion, where they hoisted Puerto Rican flags up high and held up signs warning that an increase in power bills would lead to an unsustainable rise in the island’s already expensive cost of living.

The proposed increase is part of a debt restructuring plan to pull Puerto Rico’s power company out of bankruptcy, an effort that has failed multiple times as bondholders threaten to sue to recuperate their investments. If approved, the current residential rate of 25 cents per kilowatt hour would nearly double over the span of 30 years.

The federal effort to expand internet access to every U.S. home has taken a major step forward with the announcement of $930 million in grants to shore up connections in dozens of places where significant connectivity gaps persist.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr watches during the second half of Game 5 of the team's NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

USA Basketball has finalized its schedule of exhibition games leading into this summer’s FIBA World Cup, announcing Tuesday that it will open the five-game slate against Puerto Rico in Las Vegas on Aug. 7.

FILE - The Supreme Court building is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 10, 2023. Confidence in the Supreme Court sank to its lowest point in at least 50 years in 2022, in the wake of the Dobbs decision that led to state bans and other restrictions on abortion. That's according to the General Social Survey, a long-running and widely respected survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago that has been measuring confidence in the court since 1973, the same year that Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The Supreme Court has ruled against an organization of Puerto Rican journalists in its quest for documents from the financial oversight board created to deal with the island territory’s bankruptcy.

FILE - Puerto Rico's Gov. Pedro Pierluisi speaks during a press conference at La Fortaleza in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 6, 2019. Pierluisi announced new solar energy initiatives on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, during his annual state of the territory address, a speech viewed by many as critical as he fights plummeting ratings amid growing discontent over costly electric bills, government corruption and slow-moving hurricane reconstruction. (AP Photo/Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo, File)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Two cousins of Puerto Rico’s Gov. Pedro Pierluisi pleaded guilty Thursday for embezzling an estimated $3.7 million in federal funds earmarked for the management of public housing on the island.

A federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy process held a hearing Wednesday on the issue after delaying approval of the proposed debt restructuring plan.

Residential electricity rates in Puerto Rico are currently almost double those in the U.S. mainland, while industrial and commercial rates are more than twice as high, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The fear of possibly higher power bills prompted many to join Wednesday’s protest, including Rev. Lizzette Gabriel, bishop of Puerto Rico’s Methodist Church.

“The higher the energy costs, the less money a family has to survive, and not everyone has money to install a solar system,” she said.

She worried that more expensive power bills would also force small businesses to close and churches to cut back on their services. More than 40% of Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million inhabitants live below the poverty rate, compared with a 19% rate for Mississippi, the poorest U.S. state.

Many in Puerto Rico also are outraged about the proposed increase given ongoing power outages blamed on a crumbling power grid that was not properly maintained and has not been rebuilt since Hurricane Maria ravaged the U.S. territory in September 2017. Power outages were reported across the island on Wednesday amid heavy rain and lightning produced by a strong tropical wave in the region.

Cristina Miranda Palacios, executive director of the nonprofit League of Puerto Rican Cities, said the proposed increase is not fair or acceptable.

“It’s inconceivable that the people, including the most marginalized and economically disadvantaged populations, have to bear this cost for a highly questionable quality of service,” she said.

Puerto Ricans say they are not responsible for the actions of government officials who for decades accumulated more than $70 billion in public debt through corruption, mismanagement and excessive borrowing.

In 2015, the U.S. territory’s government announced it was unable to pay its debt, and in 2017, it filed for the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history. The debt of nearly all the island’s government agencies has since been restructured, except that of Puerto Rico’s power company. It is the largest held by any state agency at more than $10 million.


#Hundreds #Puerto #Rico #protest #proposed #increase #electricity #bills

Leave a Reply

आपका ईमेल पता प्रकाशित नहीं किया जाएगा. आवश्यक फ़ील्ड चिह्नित हैं *