AES Gives Government of Puerto Rico an Ultimatum for Economic Bailout

Email exchanges, meetings with key personnel from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the discussion of a Memorandum of Understanding to renegotiate AES Puerto Rico’s (AES-PR) contract with the government of Puerto Rico six years before it expires. This all has happened over the past 11 months, away from public scrutiny. However, a letter from Natalie Jaresko, executive director of the Fiscal Control Board, to PREPA’s Governing Board uncovered what until today had been a secret between AES executives and members of Pedro Pierluisi’s administration: that the coal energy producer is going through its worst economic crisis and to get out of it, is demanding that the government of Puerto Rico come to its rescue. “The cash flow problem at AES-PR is dire,” AES President Jesús Bolinaga Serfaty said in a letter written on March 24, 2021 to PREPA executives that had been kept secret, but that the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish) and La Perla del Sur obtained after months of requests and the filing of a request for Mandamus for access to public information. Screenshot of the communication.

Ultimátum de AES: pide un rescate económico al Gobierno de Puerto Rico

Envío de correos electrónicos, reuniones con figuras clave de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE) y la discusión de un Memorando de Entendimiento para renegociar el contrato de AES Puerto Rico (AES-PR) con el Gobierno de Puerto Rico seis años antes de que se venza. Todo ha ocurrido durante los pasados 11 meses, fuera del escrutinio público. Sin embargo, una carta de la directora ejecutiva de la Junta de Control Fiscal, Natalie Jaresko a la Junta de Gobierno de la AEE destapó lo que hasta hoy había sido un secreto entre ejecutivos de AES y miembros de la administración de Pedro Pierluisi: que la carbonera atraviesa su peor crisis económica y que para salir de ella reclama que el Gobierno de Puerto Rico salga a su rescate. “El problema de flujo de efectivo en AES-PR es grave”, revela Jesús Bolinaga Serfaty, presidente de esa empresa, en una comunicación escrita el 24 de marzo de 2021 a ejecutivos de la AEE que se había mantenido en secreto, pero que el Centro de Periodismo Investigativo y La Perla del Sur obtuvieron tras meses de solicitudes y la presentación de un recurso de Mandamus para acceso a información pública. Captura de pantalla de la comunicación escrita.

Monsanto Sued in Puerto Rico for Alleged ‘Intentional and Negligent’ Harm to an Ex-employee’s Health

After suffering a severe allergy and respiratory problems while working in Puerto Rico with experimental agrochemicals for the multinational seed producer Monsanto, agronomist Iris Pellot sued the company for allegedly causing her “intentional and negligent” harm, as well as violating her constitutional rights. The first day in court was on Friday, Jan. 24. Sitting on one of the benches in room 601 at the Aguadilla Superior Court, Pellot hugged two of her children while she cried. She was telling them she was nervous because of the hearing that was about to start before Judge Miguel Trabal-Cuevas.

Viven y juegan entre el arsénico de las cenizas de AES

Según la Agencia de Protección Ambiental federal, el límite de seguridad aceptado de arsénico en suelos residenciales es 0.68 partes por millón. En algunos suelos al sur de Puerto Rico este verano se recogieron muestras que sobrepasan 22 veces el límite aceptado por la agencia.

Arroyo Barril: coal ash and death remain 15 years later

While in Dominican Republic there is a debate over the number of people who must be compensated after breathing and swallowing — for years — AES coal ashes that reached Arroyo Barril, in Puerto Rico the government is presenting a regulation that perpetuates the toxic waste on the island.