After LUMA Data Show a 19% Jump in Small-Business Bills, CUD Chief Says Private Sector United Behind Structural Relief

The president of Puerto Rico’s United Retailers Center (CUD) warned that surging electricity costs are placing “unsustainable pressure” on the island’s small and medium-sized businesses, reacting to LUMA Energy regulatory data showing that average monthly small-commercial bills jumped 19% in October despite only modest growth in power usage.

Alan Taveras Sepúlveda, who took the helm of the influential trade group in September, said the official figures submitted to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) validate months of alarms raised by local merchants operating on razor-thin profit margins.

“These figures confirm what we at the United Retailers Center have been warning about,” Taveras Sepúlveda said in a written statement to Caribbean Business. “We cannot continue passing these increases on to small businesses and expect them to absorb them without consequences. Every additional dollar allocated to the electricity bill is one less dollar available to maintain jobs, invest in operations, and sustain competitiveness.”

To push for broader intervention, the CUD has joined forces with other private-sector organizations to advocate against temporary “band-aid” measures in favor of structural relief. According to Taveras Sepúlveda, the coalition has already presented its proposals to the Financial Oversight and Management Board and the Puerto Rico Legislature, while engaging other key stakeholders.

CUD’s partners include the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, ASORE, the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association and the College of Certified Public Accountants, which together released a plan of about 20 measures on Oct. 19, as CB reported Oct. 27.

The organization has also requested a formal meeting with La Fortaleza to address the crisis directly with the administration, though Taveras Sepúlveda noted they are still awaiting a response from the governor’s office.

“Our request is clear: we need short-term economic relief, accompanied by medium- and long-term structural solutions that guarantee a reliable and affordable energy system,” Taveras Sepúlveda said.

Framing energy stability as a prerequisite for economic survival rather than a routine infrastructure issue, he added: “The private sector is united in this demand, and we hope that this willingness to collaborate translates into concrete actions.”

Inside the LUMA filing

The regulatory filing, reported by CB on Nov. 10 and submitted in response to a PREB order, provides the clearest official snapshot yet of what Caribbean Business has dubbed the Pymes Power Cliff.

Analyzing more than 75,000 commercial accounts under the General Service at Secondary Distribution Voltage (GSS) classification, which is LUMA’s closest proxy for Puerto Rico’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (Pymes), the data show that average monthly bills rose to roughly $691 in October, up from $579 in September.

While total consumption across those accounts ticked up just 2.5%, from 145.6 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in September to 149.3 million kWh in October, total monthly billings surged by $8.4 million, climbing from $43.5 million to $51.9 million.

At the same time, delinquent balances more than 90 days past due have already reached approximately $4.6 million.

The disconnect points directly to rate hikes rather than increased business activity. According to Caribbean Business calculations, the filing implies an average all-in cost of 34.8 cents per kWh in October, up from 29.9 cents in September.

Nearly all of that spike stems from PREB’s temporary fourth-quarter fuel-cost adjustment of 5.28 cents per kWh, which remains in effect through December, and could be followed by further hikes after LUMA reported a $54.4 million fuel-cost deficit for September.

Economic squeeze and inadequate relief

The utility data give hard numbers to warnings from the CUD, a partner of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, that up to 12,000 small and midsize businesses could shut down, putting roughly 70,000 jobs at risk unless electricity bills are directly reduced.

The spike arrives amid broader macroeconomic stagnation. As CB reported Nov. 4, a V2A Consulting analysis presented to the Oversight Board found Puerto Rico’s economy roughly flat compared to three years ago, with commercial electricity rates up 31% since 2019.

Consumer prices rose 3.8% in September and unemployment reached 6.0% in July. V2A estimates that a 20% rise in power costs strips roughly $935 million annually from the local economy, leaving merchants with little room to pass higher utility overhead on to already stretched consumers.

Against that backdrop, business leaders have argued that government relief falls far short. The $3 million in energy aid announced by the governor on Oct. 23 would cover only about 1,000 businesses, according to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, or roughly 1.3% of the 75,000 accounts in LUMA’s filing, at about $3,000 each by the CUD’s estimate. Some business owners, meanwhile, report monthly bills of $3,000 to $6,000, as CB reported Oct. 27.