Bill details: If passed, C.P. 1092 would amend Puerto Rico’s Act No. 82, Public Policy on Energy Diversification by Means of Sustainable and Alternative Renewable Energy in Puerto Rico Act. This act’s statement of motives explains that, currently, the vast majority of power generated in Puerto Rico comes from imported oil. (According to the International Energy Agency, in 2025, fossil-fueled power plants provided 93 percent of the island’s electricity generating capacity.) This causes consistent price volatility; significantly higher electricity prices, compared with most of the United States; and undesirable carbon emissions. To address those issues, the act aims to increase Puerto Rico’s energy security through investments in renewable power resources.
C.P. 1092 aims to redefine several key definitions throughout Act No. 82, in effect integrating nuclear power (likely through small modular reactors) into the portfolio of energy technologies Puerto Rico is working to deploy. The bill also orders the University of Puerto Rico to develop research programs that will evaluate the possibilities nuclear power could offer the island.
ANS tie-in: On May 22, Domenech joined Carlos Marín, professor of Radiological Safety and Radioactive Waste Management, to testify before the House Economic Development Commission, answering legislators’ questions regarding nuclear power and advocating for the passage of C.P. 1092.
Domenech told Nuclear News, “I, along with many others both inside and outside of ANS-UPRM, believe that the value of nuclear power in Puerto Rico is found in its ability to propulse the island toward having a safe, clean, resilient, and reliable energy source; lower energy prices; and energy independence.”
The public hearing was also attended by representatives of First American Nuclear and Zap Energy, who echoed Domenech’s sentiments. Marvi Matos Rodríguez, senior vice president of fusion technology at Zap, said that the bill “opens the door to research, academic preparation and informed evaluation of these technologies.” She added that renewable energy alone cannot “provide the firm energy needed by hospitals, manufacturers and the homes of 3 million people 24 hours a day.”
Domenech also told NN that advocating for C.P. 1092 is only one of the many ways the student section has promoted nuclear energy in Puerto Rico in the seven years since its founding. Broadly, that work has involved educational outreach that aims to erase the stigma around nuclear power, educate the public on the nuclear history of Puerto Rico, and make clear the positive impact its deployment could have. More specifically, Domenech also highlighted that ANS-UPRM has made connections with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission “in order to lobby the university administration into implementing the newly approved nuclear engineering minor.”
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