P.R. Laws tit. 22, § 1054j
(a) The Commission may issue orders to assign, refer, or delegate the resolution of any adjudicative or non-adjudicative matter to one or more of the commissioners composing the Commission in question. Said orders shall designate the commissioners who shall assume the powers of the Commission expressly delegated to them. Commissioners shall have the power to:
(1) Administer oaths and take depositions;
(2) Issue summons;
(3) Receive and evaluate evidence;
(4) Preside over hearings, and
(5) Hold conferences to simplify procedures.
Any order issued by one or more commissioners pursuant to this section shall be notified to the Commission before it is made public, and the Commission may modify, amend, or render the order ineffective by a majority vote of its commissioners.
(b) Hearing officers.—
The Commission shall have the authority to refer or delegate any adjudicative matter to hearing officers, who shall be trusted employees or contractors of PREA. The Commission shall assign and distribute among its hearing officers the tasks and matters to be delegated by the Commission, after which hearing officers shall be responsible for issuing recommendations to the Energy Commission regarding the adjudication of the case or a procedural incident subject to said assignment, referral, or delegation by the Commission. In issuing a decision, the Commission shall have full discretion to accept or reject the recommendations of hearing officers. Any hearing officer appointed to preside over a hearing or investigation shall have the powers expressly delegated to him/her by the Commission in the designation order.
Hearing officers shall be appointed and carry out their duties as provided in §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of Puerto Rico”.
(c) Administrative judges.—
As provided in this subsection, the Commission shall be empowered to delegate to administrative judges with full decision-making powers, the adjudication of any matter, case, and controversy on behalf of the Energy Commission, as these may be delegated in accordance with the provisions of this Section. Administrative judges may be trusted employees or contractors of the Commission. The Commission shall be empowered to assign and distribute among the administrative judges the issues, cases, or disputes delegated in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
In exercising its discretion, the Energy Commission may delegate to administrative judges cases and disputes related to the review of PREPA’s customers electricity bills; cases or disputes alleging noncompliance by an electric power service company with the regulations of the Energy Commission in connection with the quality of the services provided to its customers; cases or disputes alleging noncompliance by PREPA or an electric power service customer with its obligations in connection with the interconnection of distributed generation systems or any other matter that the Commission may provide. The Energy Commission may delegate to its administrative judges any case or dispute in which the total value or cost of the remedies sought is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less.
Administrative judges shall be appointed and shall carry out their duties as provided in §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of Puerto Rico”.
History —May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 6.11.