(a) It shall be the public policy of the Government of Puerto Rico to establish aggressive strategies to achieve efficiency in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power, in order to ensure its availability and supply at a competitive cost.
(b) The Electric Power Authority is hereby directed, within a nondeferrable term which shall expire on January 2, 2010, to identify and implement a system which enables tax-exempt businesses described in § 10642(d)(1)(H) of this title or similar provisions in preceding incentives laws, to contract the sale of electric power from other entities through the wheeling service.
(c) When establishing the wheeling service provided for in this subchapter, the Electric Power Authority shall consider the following factors, among others:
(1) The state of the transmission and distribution infrastructure, the loss of energy relative with this phase of the operation, and its cost. The Electric Power Authority shall prepare a plan (or revise the plan it has already prepared, if any) on or before May 1, 2009, in order to strengthen said infrastructure and minimize such losses. Consideration shall be given to the best practices of other jurisdictions that have implemented this procedure and the convenience of applying the same in Puerto Rico.
(2) The criteria that shall be considered when determining the fees to be charged for the transmission and distribution service, so that the cost may be kept at a reasonable level in order to enable this procedure to be feasible, to promote the generation of energy and the competitiveness of Puerto Rico in the cost and availability of this service, while safeguarding the best interests of the Puerto Rican People, including the distance between the producer and the user of energy.
(3) The reasonable conditions which shall be established in order to guarantee the protection and the adequate and efficient maintenance of the transmission and distribution infrastructure.
(4) In the event that the Electric Power Authority is unable to reach an agreement with an energy producer in terms of the costs, terms or other conditions relative to the wheeling service within a term of sixty (60) calendar days as of the date of filing the application, the Executive Director of the Energy Affairs Administration shall appoint an arbitrator to decide on the controversy between the parties. The arbitrator in the procedure provided for herein shall issue his/her determination abiding by the law within sixty (60) days as of the date on which the arbitration procedure began. Said term may be extended for an additional term of up to thirty (30) days by agreement of the parties. The expenses relative to the arbitration procedure provided for herein shall be equally defrayed by the parties.
History —May 28, 2008, No. 73, art. 4, § 2, eff. July 1, 2008.