Company Urges Customers to Take Advantage of Assistance Programs and Reaffirms Commitment to Renewables

San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 15, 2022 – Today, LUMA filed the required quarterly fuel and purchased power cost adjustments with the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) highlighting the significant effect of global events on the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) generation fuel costs. As LUMA explains in its formal filing, the company does not generate energy, and does not set or profit from any increase in fuel prices – they are set by global markets that continue to be impacted by the global pandemic, disruptions to global production and, most recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

LUMA’s responsibility, as detailed in the filing, is to calculate the quarterly fuel and purchased power adjustments. Fuel costs are provided by PREPA, whose responsibility it is to generate energy and purchase fuel required for generation from PREPA’s power plants. The calculated fuel and purchased power adjustments for a residential customer is approximately 4 cents per kilowatt-hour. Puerto Rico’s regulator, the PREB, will review and approve the final impact of any fuel and purchased power cost adjustments on customer rates.

In the filing to the PREB, LUMA also made clear that LUMA has no control over how rising fuel prices may directly impact customer rates or bills – which are exclusively set by the PREB – nor does it financially benefit from any change or increase in generation fuel costs.

“Global events, including the pandemic, global supply disruptions and the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, are having a direct impact on the fuel costs used by PREPA to generate energy. While we can’t control how these global events impact customer rates, we are determined to help and urge our customers to reach out to learn about a LUMA payment plan or the array of readily available financial assistance programs,” said Wayne Stensby, President and CEO of LUMA.

Financial Assistance is Available

As part of an effort to help its customers, the company is continuing a social media campaign across social media channels, including Twitter and Facebook, aimed at raising awareness of various government financial programs available to all eligible customers. In addition, LUMA will continue to promote its own payment plan options for customers who may have difficulty paying their energy bills, now or in the future. The company will be strongly encouraging customers to call 1-844-888-5862 or visit lumapr.com to learn what assistance programs could work best for customers facing concern over their bill.

“Given PREPA’s cost of fuel and energy purchases from other generators currently make up more than 70% of our customers’ bills, we are greatly concerned by the continued negative impact that global events are having on fuel prices and customer rates, and we are determined to do all we can to help our customers,” Stensby said. “We are working together with key leaders across Puerto Rico to raise public awareness about several government assistance programs that could offer assistance to those eligible.”

Key Facts: Quarterly Fuel Charge Adjustment Process

Puerto Rico is heavily dependent on expensive diesel and bunker fuels to generate electricity. As fuel costs change based on the global marketplace, there is a formal regulatory process for adjusting customers rates accordingly. Puerto Rico customers’ electricity rates are adjusted on a quarterly basis to account for the changing cost of fuel used for power generation and other factors. This adjustment process is the responsibility of the PREB and is described below:

• Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA): The PREPA and other generators are responsible for generation and negotiating fuel contracts.

• Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB): The PREB is responsible for evaluating and approving electric customer rate adjustments based on how much fuel was used for generation, the cost of this fuel and the cost of energy purchased from private generators and other factors. This process occurs every three months (quarterly).

• LUMA: LUMA calculates the fuel adjustment based on cost information provided by PREPA. LUMA does not generate energy, manage generation plants, negotiate generation fuel costs or purchase fuel. LUMA does not determine or have control over how rising fuel prices may impact customer rates or bills.

• LUMA does not financially benefit or profit from any change or increase in generation fuel costs. LUMA’s role in the rate adjustment process is limited to calculating the adjustment factors based on the cost of fuel and purchased power and providing that information to the PREB on behalf of PREPA. No revenues from the fuel and purchased power rate riders are used to pay for any of LUMA’s costs of operating the transmission and distribution system.

Minimize the Future Impact of Fuel Increases

To help minimize the future impact of global fuel prices, LUMA is committed to advancing the adoption of renewables in Puerto Rico for all of its customers. In just over nine months, LUMA has connected more than 15,000 solar customers, adding over 70 megawatts of renewable electricity to the grid. The company has been working with the PREB and renewable energy developers to integrate up to 1,000 megawatts of new utility-scale solar energy and to add up to 500 megawatts of battery storage onto the grid. Additionally, LUMA is coordinating with three utility-scale wind and solar energy facilities, as well as with 40 Puerto Rican businesses, to connect an additional 270 megawatts of renewable electricity.

About LUMA LUMA is a Puerto Rican company that, since June 1, 2021, operates and manages the electric power transmission and distribution system in Puerto Rico. LUMA is a company driven by a mission to transform the electrical transmission and distribution system to provide all Puerto Ricans with the reliable, resilient, cleaner and affordable electrical grid they deserve. As a customer-centric company, LUMA’s entire workforce of more than 3,000 employees is focused on safely delivering an exceptional customer service experience to its 1.5 million customers.