Latest news with #FinancialOversightBoard
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump fires 5 members of Puerto Rico's financial oversight board
President Trump fired five of the eight members of Puerto Rico's Financial Oversight Management Board, which oversees the U.S. territory's budget plan. The island has been trying to find its way to fiscal solvency after struggling with its debt for years. Mr. Trump dismissed the board's chairman Arthur J. Gonzalez, Cameron McKenzie, Betty A. Rosa, Juan A. Sabater, and Luis A. Ubiñas, leaving only two board members in place, in addition to one appointed by the Puerto Rican governor, CBS News confirmed, according to a White House official. This was first reported by Breitbart. Four of the fired members were appointed by Democratic presidents, while the fifth, Betty A. Rosa, was nominated by Mr. Trump during his first term and later renominated by President Biden. One of the remaining board members was nominated by President Barack Obama and reappointed by Mr. Trump, while the other was nominated by Mr. Trump and later renominated by Biden. Seven members are appointed by the president — six of whom are selected from lists provided by the majority and minority congressional leaders, and one is chosen at the president's discretion — and one ex officio member picked by the governor of Puerto Rico, who serves on the board but has no voting rights. A White House official said the board has been "run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long, and it's time to restore common sense leadership." The financial oversight board was created by Congress in the last year of the Obama administration by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, known as PROMESA. It was established to help Puerto Rico address its fiscal crisis and prioritize and expedite badly needed infrastructure projects for the Island. The oversight board said in a statement it was informed by the White House that the president had terminated the five members and that it would "continue to work to fulfill the mandate of PROMESA and in the interest of the people of Puerto Rico." Though PROMESA was enacted in 2016, Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority's debt has yet to be negotiated, as bondholders continue to fight for billions that's due to them. Amid the ongoing legal battle over how much Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority owes its bondholders, Democrats in Congress have also been weighing in. At a hearing in July about the financial board's performance, Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York slammed bondholder Golden Tree Asset Management, which is considered the main objector to the Financial Oversight Management Board's proposal to cut the principal payment on PREPA bonds from $8.5 billion to $2.6 billion. "They took advantage of a distressed government to buy cheap debt, and now they demand the maximum payment. This isn't longer the story of PREPA's bankruptcy. It's a story of Golden Tree versus the people of Puerto Rico," Velazquez said. "Calls to eliminate the board now, simply because of its spending on consultants and its refusal to agree to the PREPA bondholders' overreaching demands are premature," Jared Huffman, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee. According to Puerto Rico's national newspaper El Nuevo Dia, the island's Republican governor, Jenniffer González-Colón, previously said that the financial oversight board needs to leave "immediately." González-Colón said in a statement she "will work alongside whoever will be part of the new board, once President Trump makes the announcement." A day after the hearing, right-wing activist Laura Loomer wrote on X that President Trump had the power to fire members of the board and "replace it with a new board." "The failure of lawyers and consultants to resolve the bankruptcy of Puerto Rico has left the people of Puerto Rico without power, or a path forward," Loomer said. According to the text of PROMESA, "the President may remove any member of the Oversight Board only for cause." The White House official told CBS News no decisions about the replacement of the five members have been made yet.
Yahoo
26-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Puerto Rico Abandons $20 Billion LNG Deal
Puerto Rico's government has pulled the plug on contract talks with New Fortress Energy after the island's federally appointed oversight board declined to approve a proposed $20-billion LNG supply deal, upending years of negotiations and raising questions about the future shape of its energy transition. According to a report by Hart Energy, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico withheld support for the contract earlier this month, citing concerns about cost, duration, and long-term fuel dependency. In response, the Puerto Rico government formally canceled negotiations with New Fortress, despite the company's dominant position in the island's LNG market. New Fortress had been in line to supply fuel for the state-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), whose fleet includes aging oil- and gas-fired plants awaiting conversion or decommissioning. The canceled deal was expected to cover LNG imports for a period of up to 25 years, potentially extending New Fortress's role as the island's primary gas supplier well into the 2040s. The collapse of the agreement leaves a significant vacuum in Puerto Rico's energy planning. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas, primarily LNG, accounted for approximately 34% of the island's electricity generation in 2023, with petroleum making up the majority. Although full-year 2024 data is not yet available, analysts at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) had warned that Puerto Rico's increasing reliance on LNG contracts could entrench fossil fuel use at the expense of federally supported renewable energy goals. In parallel, the U.S. Department of Energy is preparing to disburse nearly $1 billion in solar and storage funding through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund. As of July, however, local permitting constraints and utility interconnection delays had slowed the rollout of community-scale renewable projects. The New Fortress deal had also come under scrutiny for bypassing competitive procurement rules. While the company already supplies LNG to the San Juan combined-cycle plant and EcoEléctrica's Peñuelas facility, its attempt to lock in a 25-year sole-source contract drew criticism from public interest attorneys and environmental groups. Legal scholars warned the deal could have violated key provisions of Puerto Rico's energy reform laws. For New Fortress, which has not issued any public comment on the deal's breakdown, the canceled contract represents a setback in its bid to expand LNG operations across the Caribbean. The company is still advancing its Fast LNG project in Mexico, with modular floating liquefaction units aimed at flexible export markets, including potentially Puerto Rico. While one cargo was delivered to Puerto Rico in early 2025, no current-quarter shipments have been confirmed. Without a long-term anchor contract, its foothold on the island may be more vulnerable than previously assumed. Puerto Rico's Energy Bureau has not announced whether a new solicitation process will follow. With the island's debt restructuring still underway and federal funding tied to grid modernization, the question now is whether energy planners will reframe the mix around renewables, or seek a scaled-down LNG alternative. By Charles Kennedy for More Top Reads From this article on
Bloomberg
22-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Puerto Rico Board Cites Deep Concerns Over New Fortress LNG Deal
Puerto Rico's federal watchdog reiterated deep concerns about a contract that would give New Fortress Energy almost complete control of the island's liquefied natural gas deliveries for more than a decade, and said it has serious questions about how the deal was hammered out. 'There appears to be no entity that is accountable to explain the negotiations or the rationale behind the proposed terms and conditions, its impact on ratepayers, and the future of Puerto Rico's energy system,' the Financial Oversight and Management Board wrote in a letter to Josue Colon, the energy czar and the executive director of the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority.
Bloomberg
11-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Puerto Rico Energy Czar Backs New Fortress LNG Supply Deal
The official in charge of addressing Puerto Rico's power crisis is pushing to move forward with New Fortress Energy Inc.'s proposed $20 billion contract to supply the island with natural gas, saying a federal watchdog's concerns about the deal are overwrought. Josue Colón, Puerto Rico's energy czar, said the Financial Oversight and Management Board's worry that the contract would give New Fortress Energy a near-monopoly ignores the fact that the company already controls one of the island's few liquefied natural gas import terminals.
