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Mayors, Money, and a Bigger Light Bill · 787daily — Puerto Rico Every Morning

• 0:00
  Welcome to the 787daily week in review.
• 0:02
  I'm Marisol, and this week is all about money: where it's going, where it's stuck, and where it's coming out of your pocket.
• 0:09
  And I'm Diego.
• 0:10
  Money week.
• 0:11
  My favorite and my least favorite kind of week at the same time.
• 0:15
  Ha!
• 0:15
  Let's start with the mayors.
• 0:17
  The Federation of Mayors of Puerto Rico asked the fiscal board, the JSF, to speed up the disbursement of $89 million in budget allocations.
• 0:24
  Okay, the key word there is "speed up." That tells me the money is allocated, but it isn't moving fast enough for the people who have to run the towns.
• 0:33
  That's how I read it too.
• 0:35
  The takeaway is simply that the federation is asking the board to expedite it.
• 0:39
  We don't have more detail than that.
• 0:41
  Fair.
• 0:41
  But picture being a mayor.
• 0:43
  You've got a budget on paper, and you're waiting on the board to release it.
• 0:47
  Which brings us nicely to our next story, because the board was also in the news for a happier reason.
• 0:53
  The Oversight Board cleared more than $114 million for road repaving and rehabilitation in 40 municipalities.
• 0:59
  40 municipalities.
• 1:00
  That's a lot of towns getting a look at their roads.
• 1:03
  It is.
• 1:04
  And I think anyone who has hit a pothole on a Puerto Rico road, which is everyone, perked up at that one.
• 1:10
  I'm still mad at one pothole in particular, and I won't say where.
• 1:14
  But seriously, repaving and rehabilitation is the kind of thing you actually see.
• 1:18
  You drive over it and you notice.
• 1:20
  Right.
• 1:20
  Now, I don't want to oversell it.
• 1:23
  The headline is that the money is cleared and allocated for those 40 municipalities.
• 1:27
  How fast the work happens is a separate question.
• 1:29
  Right, and it's interesting to put those two stories side by side.
• 1:33
  In one, the mayors are pushing the board to move faster.
• 1:36
  In the other, the board is clearing a big chunk of funding.
• 1:40
  Two different stories, but the same theme of who holds the money and how quickly it moves.
• 1:45
  Good way to put it.
• 1:46
  And there's more money news, this time from outside the island.
• 1:50
  FEMA approved over $71 million in additional funding for Puerto Rico's disaster recovery.
• 1:54
  Additional, so that's on top of what's already been committed.
• 1:57
  Exactly.
• 1:57
  The word "additional" is right there in the takeaway.
• 2:00
  We know it's over 71 million and that it's for disaster recovery.
• 2:04
  And recovery doesn't end when the news cycle moves on.
• 2:07
  People are still living with it, so any added funding matters, even if it's only one piece of a long process.
• 2:13
  Well said.
• 2:13
  Okay, Diego, I have to take us to the part of the show that I think will hit people at home.
• 2:20
  The power bill.
• 2:21
  The power bill.
• 2:22
  Two stories here.
• 2:22
  First, LUMA Energy is warning of a liquidity crisis in Puerto Rico's electrical system, and Genera is seeking $30 million for an emergency reserve.
• 2:30
  Liquidity crisis is a heavy phrase.
• 2:32
  In plain terms, it sounds like a warning that there may not be enough cash on hand to keep things running smoothly.
• 2:38
  And an emergency reserve is basically a cushion.
• 2:41
  That's a fair plain-language read.
• 2:42
  I'd just add that this is LUMA's warning, and Genera is the one seeking the $30 million for that reserve.
• 2:48
  The details of how it all plays out, we'll have to wait and see.
• 2:53
  Right, so I won't speculate past what we know.
• 2:55
  But it's worth watching, because the grid touches everything.
• 2:58
  It does.
• 2:59
  And then there's the story that's very close to home.
• 3:02
  The Energy Bureau confirmed that electric bills are going up starting tomorrow.
• 3:05
  The average residential customer will pay $42 and 27 cents more.
• 3:09
  $42 and 27 cents more.
• 3:11
  And I want to be a little serious for a second, because that's not small.
• 3:15
  For a lot of families, that's groceries, or a chunk of the rent, or a prescription.
• 3:20
  Absolutely.
• 3:20
  And it's an average, so some households will feel it differently.
• 3:24
  But for plenty of people already stretching every dollar, it's a real hit.
• 3:27
  Which is why it matters that we're talking about it today.
• 3:31
  Tomorrow is not far away.
• 3:32
  If you can, take a look at your budget, and maybe check in on a neighbor or a relative who's on a fixed income.
• 3:39
  That's a good thing to say.
• 3:41
  Looking out for each other is something we do well here.
• 3:45
  We do.
• 3:45
  So that's the week: mayors asking for faster funds, a big road repaving package, more FEMA money, a warning about the power system, and a higher bill on the way.
• 3:54
  A lot of numbers, but behind every one of them are real people and real towns.
• 3:59
  For the full stories on all of these, head to 787daily.com.
• 4:04
  Thanks for spending part of your week with us.
• 4:06
  Cuídense, everybody.
• 4:07
  We'll see you next time.