SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A U.S. House committee on Friday demanded that the company in charge of the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico release key data amid widespread outages in the U.S. territory that have outraged and frustrated many.
The Committee on Natural Resources ordered Luma to submit by Oct. 22 information including the number of maintenance workers it employs, the estimated amount of time one generation unit will be inoperable and the compensation packages and titles of employees who earn more than $200,000 a year.
The letter comes two days after officials including Luma CEO Wayne Stensby testified at a hearing held by the committee to learn more about the ongoing outages in Puerto Rico.
"Many of your answers were incomplete. You refused to answer others," stated the committee, which oversees U.S. territorial affairs.
Luma previously was sued by Puerto Rico's House of Representatives for similar information, with the island's Supreme Court ordering the company to turn over the data, although that hasn't occurred. At the time, Stensby said the company is private and the information confidential.
Luma issued a statement on Friday saying its more than 3,100 employees are working hard despite "the numerous and very difficult challenges from those that oppose the transformation," adding that much misinformation has been spread. However, the company did not address the questions and concerns raised by the committee.