Regulatory Compliance Services (Recoms), the firm that administers energy bids on behalf of the Authority for Public-Private Partnerships (AAPP), notified the Fiscal Oversight Board (FOSB) that negotiations with New Fortress Energy (NFE) to agree on a long-term contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas are in their final stage.

The information was provided by the JSF in a letter released yesterday, Friday, as part of the approval of the extension, for an additional week, to the provisional contract that NFE has held since July to supply fuel to 14 emergency generating units at the San Juan and Palo Seco plants.

“The Oversight Board requested that, no later than September 10, 2025, the 3PPO (Independent Procurement Office) update the status of the competitive auctions for the ‘Multi-Site’ and ‘Exigency’ processes. On Sept. 12, 2025, the 3PPO informed the Oversight Board that it was in final negotiations with the selected proposer," the agency’s senior attorney, Jaime El Koury, stated in the missive.

The “multi-site” process to which the JSF alluded refers to the request for proposals (RFP) that the AAPP issued in April to procure gas natural for most of the power plants that Genera PR manages, a procedure that Recoms has managed in its role as 3PPO. The “exigency”, meanwhile, is the emergency process that, since July, has been implemented to ensure the continuity of the supply after the expiration of the previous contract held by NFE.

Under the RFP, the 3PPO awarded a contract to Crowley to supply natural gas to the Mayagüez plant, once the units are modified to operate with this fuel, and a second contract, for 15 years and $20 billion, to NFE for the rest of the fleet. The JSF, however, objected since July to the preliminary agreement with NFE, pointing out that it contained clauses unfavorable to the public interest.

While Governor Jenniffer Gonzálezand Energy Czar and head of the AAPP, Josué Colón, have publicly deplored the conditions that NFE allegedly imposed under the RFP, negotiations have continued on the grounds that the gas company has exclusive control, until 2038, of the San Juan dock that represents the only viable entrance for natural gas on the north coast.

Negotiations with the company have also continued despite the fact that NFE, in recent days, released its second quarter financial report, which showed a loss of more than $557 million, and confirmed that it has recruited several advisory firms to enter into discussions with its creditors, in view of the maturity of large amounts of debt in the coming months.

On Friday, NFE’s share price closed at $1.31, far from the $35.58 peak it reached in 2024.

According to El Nuevo Día sources, in negotiations for the long-term contract, NFE has closed to the possibility of ceding control of the dock that the Ports Authority granted it through a 20-year lease in 2018.

NFE currently holds a second contract to supply fuel to units #5 and #6 of the San Juan plant, which was signed in 2019 and expires in the summer of 2026.

The approval of a multi-year contract would have to pass the sieve of the JSF, which since the beginning of August has been operating with only one member, John Nixon, after President Donald Trump fired the remaining six members. At the moment, it is unknown when the president will appoint the new directors, although analysts assume that it will be a group aligned with the interests of the Electric Power Authority.