DDEC offers up to $5,000 to SMEs in 15 municipalities over the water emergency

On July 29, 2026, NotiCel reports that the secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, whom the outlet names Carlos Ríos Pierluisi, announced incentives of up to $5,000 for small and medium enterprises affected by the potable-water emergency in 15 municipalities. Through this program, he says, each business that qualifies will be able to cover extraordinary expenses incurred since June 1, 2026. The grant depends on documentation and on signing the contract. The municipalities are San Juan, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Canóvanas, Carolina, Corozal, Loíza, Naranjito, Trujillo Alto, Vega Alta, Gurabo, Aguas Buenas, Juncos, Río Grande, and Caguas.

To qualify, the business must generate sales of $350,000 or less, employ up to 25 people full time, keep operations, meet legal obligations, and be in an affected zone. A prior DDEC SME certification will not be needed. The applicant will certify that it has not received or applied for other state or federal funds for the same expenses. Administrative Order DDEC-2026-03 allows bottled or cistern water, tanks and storage equipment, perishable-inventory losses, disinfection and restoration, and other emergency expenses the agency approves.

The Auxiliary Secretariat of Entrepreneurship will administer the program until funds run out or the state of emergency ends. Applications go through desarrollo.pr.gov. Other notes, in August, name Manuel Ríos Pierluisi at the head of DDEC. This July 29 page names Carlos Ríos Pierluisi. What was printed is copied. They are not fused.

This incentive is not mixed with the Canóvanas and Río Grande rationing of July 16 nor with the Carraízo extraction cut of the 27th. A check to SMEs and a reservoir adjustment are two tools. It is also not used to verify the $20 million in municipal CIP that Robert F. Mujica Jr. conditioned on July 20.

Carlos Ríos Pierluisi speaks in written remarks; Jenniffer González Colón does not appear. The reader who wants order DDEC-2026-03 has the NotiCel URL at the foot. This is not original reporting.

Source: NotiCel. https://noticel.com/ultima-hora/20260729/el-ddec-ofrece-hasta-5000-a-pymes-afectadas-por-emergencia-de-agua/