Mr. Juan F. Alicea Flores, P.E.
Executive Director
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
P.O. Box 364267
San Juan, P.R. 00936-4267

Dear Mr. Alicea Flores:

I appreciate your letter in reference to CARIBBEAN BUSINESS’ suggestion to look into the possibility of the Florida to Puerto Rico undersea electric-power cable.

I read your comments regarding the results of the executive summary of a study performed four years ago by the staff of the International Bank for the Reconstruction & Development of the World Bank, which was researched in 2010 and published in 2011.

Some of the study’s conclusions are outdated. As with all technology nowadays, four years ago is a long time. Technologies continue to change almost daily.

As an example, the analysis performed and referred to in the executive summary pertains to the interconnection of Haiti with Florida and found that it wasn’t viable because of the lack of pathways with depths of less than 1,500 meters (1,500 meters is about 5,000 feet), which apparently was the maximum depth of the technology of undersea power cables at that time. The technology of undersea power cables nowadays is down to 7,000 feet, and experts expect new undersea cables to be installed very soon at depths of up to 10,000 feet, twice the depth cited in the executive summary.

As a former boat owner, when I lived in New York, I did a lot of navigation off the shores of Long Island and the East Coast of the U.S. mainland. My experience in boating includes taking Coast Guard courses and receiving certification. One thing I learned a long time ago was how to read nautical charts. Before I started to write about the Florida to Puerto Rico undersea power-cable plan, I obtained all the charts covering the northern coasts of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. There are definitely paths where undersea power cables can be laid within 7,000-feet depths, the current limit of technology. In fact, nowhere is the water deeper than 3,000 feet along the northern coasts of these islands, extending 12 miles out, which marks the start of international waters, where the cable would have to be laid along the coasts of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Once the undersea power cable gets to Puerto Rico, there is no reason for it to be 12 miles offshore. The line could be four to five miles from shore, where the depths are no more than 1,000 feet. While I am not trying to compare exactly the laying of fiber-optic cables with the laying of electrical cables, the fact is that we have six fiber-optic cables between Puerto Rico and Florida that have been operating—some of them now for many years—with no problems whatsoever. The only difference between the fiber-optic cables and the electric cables is the larger circumference of the electric cables. If there is a path to lay down those cables within depths of 3,000 feet, why does the study talk about such deep water? The study must be referring to the deep waters of the Puerto Rico Trench. But the Puerto Rico Trench is more than 30 miles north of Arecibo. And it’s a good 15 to 20 miles between Puerto Rico and where the trench starts to develop and finally reaches the total depths at the lowest point. We don’t have to go anywhere near that trench. At the point where the cable is north of Puerto Rico, the depths are no deeper than 1,000 feet. And that is proven by the fact that the fiber-optic cables have been laid successfully from Puerto Rico to Florida by different telecommunications companies.

Regarding the issue of water depth off the coast of Haiti, the World Bank full report you cite also said that «further studies may identify better routes, or more expensive technologies might be used. Further verification of the route options is required and technical advances may make these interconnections possible.»

Your letter also cites a discussion of the study regarding the limits of alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) submarine cables, but the report actually provides additional facts omitted in your letter that support the Florida undersea power-cable plan’s viability.

The report does state that undersea cables may not be able to distribute power through «spliced spurs,» but it adds that interconnecting several islands can be accomplished by «going from island to island with terminals on each island or by delivering all the power to a single central island with interconnections to other islands.» This doesn’t involve the spliced spurs.

In fact, the full report found that the introduction of cheap power from Florida to the Caribbean region would be very beneficial. Many Caribbean countries «may benefit from a series of interconnections to bring less-expensive power into the market, either from Florida or Nevis,» the report stated.

«This would work by having each country along a series of interconnections take some of the less-expensive power and pass on the rest to neighboring countries. As a hypothetical and simplistic example, Cuba might receive 1,000 [megawatts] MW from Florida, keep 400 MW and deliver 600 MW to Haiti. Haiti would keep 200 MW and deliver 400 MW to the Dominican Republic,» the report added.

Puerto Rico, which wasn’t a focus of the World Bank study, has a large enough market to consume the entire 1,000 MW from Florida.

The World Bank report found a «number of highly economic, technically viable electricity market interconnection options» and called for further study on «continental connections,» including connecting Florida to the Caribbean region.

«Electricity market interconnections may be an attractive option for the Caribbean. Many of the electricity market interconnections studied appear to be both economically viable and technically feasible,» the report found.

One of these interconnections analyzed by the report is the Florida- Cuba route, which offers «large savings due to the availability of low-cost coal and natural gas in Florida,» the report found.

Mr. Alicea Flores, we have to face the facts. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa) is broke. If it were a private company, it would already be in bankruptcy. There is no way that Prepa can afford to start a multibillion-dollar conversion of these plants to natural gas in the near future. It would probably be years before it can build up enough financially to even think of starting. That could mean that having no natural-gas plants in Puerto Rico could be as far as 10 years away. I don’t think consumers or businesses in Puerto Rico could wait that long to reduce electricity rates. As long as Prepa produces most of its power with imported oil, electricity rates will only continue to climb higher, making today’s energy crisis much worse tomorrow. The Florida-Puerto Rico undersea power cable could be laid in two-and- a-half years, according to the schedules of other undersea power cables that have been developed around the world.

My suggestion is that Prepa do two things: number one, look up these companies that have been laying the 30 underwater power cables that exist around the world today. Number two, look up the companies—which might be the same ones—which are now working on 15 new lines that are in different stages of progress, including one that is almost 1,000 miles long like ours would be. I am sure one or two of these companies would be glad to come down and give us an answer if laying a cable between here and Florida is possible. They certainly have the experience, with 30 undersea cables installed around the world, and 15 more being worked on. At the same time, Prepa or some other government officials should be talking to the Florida power companies about the viability of laying this line.

I am sure all of this investigation work won’t cost any more than what we are now spending on opening an office in Colombia. Even if three or four businesses from Colombia come to Puerto Rico and create some jobs, it wouldn’t have anywhere near the impact on our economy as the impact of reducing our power costs to every consumer and every business in Puerto Rico. One of the biggest stumbling blocks of doing business in Puerto Rico today for tens of thousands of businesses is the high electricity rate. And of course, it’s a heavy burden on consumers. As long as we depend on foreign oil to produce electricity, rates will remain high and will likely get even more expensive each year. In 1980, our electricity rates were around 5.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Today they are about 27 cents per kWh. Right now, and for maybe the next 10 years, we will be at the mercy of foreign, unfriendly countries. Florida generates its power mostly by natural gas and nuclear power, the cheapest forms of electricity. It doesn’t depend on the whims of unstable oil-producing countries. If we move forward on our inquiries and we find the Puerto Rico-Florida line is viable, we could be paying much lower and stable rates four years from now. Let’s not close our minds to new ideas.

Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,

Manuel A. Casiano, Chairman
Casiano Communications
CARIBBEAN BUSINESS Publisher & Editor in Chief

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