Regulatory Support for Puerto Rico

Synapse has been engaged with the the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, since 2015. Our role includes providing technical support and expert review of materials submitted by LUMA (transmission and distribution system operator), Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) (power generation asset owner), and Genera (operator of PREPA-owned legacy power generation plants).

Since 2015, Synapse has been engaged with supporting the Energy Bureau with the development of Puerto Rico's first integrated resource planning (IRP) rules. Synapse supported the Energy Bureau with the review of PREPA's second IRP in 2019-20, developed in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the island’s commitment to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2050, and are again leading the review process for the ongoing third IRP.

We have also assisted the Bureau in crafting rules for microgrids, interconnection, wheeling, and developing performance metrics and incentives. As part of this ongoing work, Synapse developed a quarterly-updated dashboard to track key performance metrics related to Puerto Rico’s electric system. We also provided extensive support for the Energy Bureau in its docket establishing performance metrics for LUMA and their relationship to the operator’s compensation; our support in this area is ongoing.

Synapse assisted the Energy Bureau in writing and adopting regulations for energy efficiency and demand response. These regulations have resulted in the launch of Puerto Rico’s first ever ratepayer-funded EE and DR programs. The Customer Battery Energy Sharing (CBES) demand response program is harnessing tens of MW of capacity from tens of thousands of distributed batteries as a virtual power plant to reduce evening peak loads and prevent or shorten rolling power outages.