Carmen Vega Fournier finds million-dollar gaps in the AEE-LUMA accounts

On June 1, 2026, NotiCel reports that comptroller Carmen Vega Fournier published the audit of the fiscal operations of the operations-and-maintenance contract for the transmission and distribution system among the Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica, the Autoridad para las Alianzas Público-Privadas, and LUMA Energy. The review covers June 1, 2020 through June 30, 2024. The Oficina de la Contralora issues a qualified opinion for two findings: replenishment of funds in the service accounts and documentation of the interruption events used to justify transfers.

Between May 2021 and February 2024, according to the report as the outlet summarizes it, 118 transfers were made for about 4,987 million dollars. In 77 transfers between November 2022 and January 2024, AEE did not approve the replenishments requested in 14 applications from the Federally Funded Capital Account and the Interruption Event Reserve Account. The amounts not transferred, the comptroller says, ranged from 1.2 to 16.9 million in one account and from 28.4 to 28.5 million in the other. Another 46 transfers were approved for only two-thirds of what LUMA asked. AEE used more than 400 million from the FEMA federal-reimbursement reserve to meet part of those replenishments.

As of August 29, 2024, LUMA had about 172.8 million dollars in interruption expenses still to claim, covered by the Operating Account. In 25 events about 26.6 million was transferred; LUMA's reports, according to the audit, did not carry continuous periods of customers without service or start and end hours. In 17 events for about 16.4 million, neither date nor time of termination was indicated. Another 17 events for about 17.4 million were justified with Grey Sky Days parameters that the contract, Carmen Vega Fournier says, does not contemplate.

AEE attributes part of the illiquidity to billing, collection, and federal reimbursements under LUMA's charge. LUMA maintains that funding the service accounts is AEE's duty and defends Grey Sky Days as an industry metric. The comptroller recommends evaluating contract amendments, recurring sources for the interruption reserve, and archiving of original data. This note does not audit the contract or pick a side. What remains is the June 1 report and the NotiCel URL.

That same day, in another NotiCel piece, LUMA speaks of load shedding before the Negociado de Energía. Those are two outlets: one on O and M contract accounts and another on rotating outages. They are not mixed. The reader who wants the three parties' comments has the source at the foot.

Source: NotiCel. https://noticel.com/noticias/20260601/contralora-revela-deficiencias-millonarias-en-manejo-de-cuentas-aee-y-luma/