Villalba challenges the cooperative model to provide services in conjunction with Luma

Villalpa’s Mayor Louis Xavier Hernandez Artis recently met with members of the Co-operative de Professionals de la Industria Electrica de Puerto Rico y del Caribe (ElectricGoop) as a distributor and distributor of local alternatives to work in the electrical system.

“In particular, this co-operative seeks to be a realistic and effective option in the face of forces coming from elsewhere and unaware of the reality of the Puerto Rico power system. The president of the Ricoh Mayors Association said in a written statement.

“I firmly believe in the co-operative movement. In fact, our energy project in Villarreal (Consortio Energetico de la Montana), along with other municipalities, is trying to become a cooperative. In fact, it operates successfully in the United States and other countries, where generation is provided by a cooperative and service is provided by another company. In the case of ELECTRICOOP, we plan to ensure that employees are responsible for maintenance and routine work in problem areas, ”said Hernandez Artis.

In the United States in particular, the Co-operative Scheme has been well known and respected since 75 years ago as part of the electrification of isolated rural areas in various states, and it also provides electricity to homes and customers with electric cars. The initiative progressed, and by 1942 this group of electricity cooperatives had formed the National Rural Electricity Co-operative Society (NRECA), co-ordinated the efforts and represented their interests before the Central Government.

“Currently the company is made up of 900 co-operatives, which are managed by their partner owners. In Puerto Rico, the co-operative has a particular strength in the field of savings and credit, and it is time to expand the concept so that it is more competitive and offers better prices and services,” Hernandez Artis said. Said.

On June 3, Governor Pierre Pierre Lucie, along with Mayor Hernandez Ortiz, announced that he had set aside $ 5 million for the design of the microgrid, including Consortio Energetico de la Montana, Orokovis, Villalpa, Morovis, Barcitos and Ciatallos. . Similarly, it was announced that a contract would be signed in which the PREPA consortium agrees to use the Toro Negro de Villalpa hydroelectric plant at usufruct to generate approximately 10 megawatts of electricity, with about 130 megawatts of microgrid proposed solar power to be distributed among participating municipalities.

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“Through this initiative, municipalities are again developing plans and solutions to the country’s problems. That is why we continue to argue for a fair allocation of resources so that we can achieve more. Now we propose it for the power system, which in the past has done successfully in infrastructure such as roads, schools and other issues. Commitment Continuing, ”concluded Hernandez Artis.