If Kamala Harris Wants To Lower Energy Costs in Puerto Rico, She Should Support the Repeal of the Jones Act
Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a plan on Sunday to increase “access to reliable, affordable electricity” in Puerto Rico and strengthen the island’s grid against extreme weather. Like other Harris proposals, the plan would inflate the size of the federal government through top-down decision making and increase tax credits for Harris’ preferred energy sources. Noticeably, Harris’ proposal does not include a repeal of the Jones Act, which for decades has increased energy costs and hurt grid reliability in Puerto Rico.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act, requires any goods being shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on an American-owned, built, and flagged vessel with a majority American crew. Originally intended to protect U.S. shipbuilding, the Jones Act has made America’s maritime industry less competitive while increasing costs for consumers.
The failures of the Jones Act have disproportionately hurt Puerto Rico. In 2017, when Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, U.S. aid was delayed for more than a week until President Donald Trump signed a 10-day Jones Act waiver. Hurricane relief efforts were yet again stalled in 2022 after Hurricane Fiona. This time a BP tanker with 300,000 gallons of diesel remained idle off of the coast of the island until President Joe Biden granted a 10-day waiver.
But even aside from disaster relief efforts, the Jones Act has also made energy in Puerto Rico more expensive and less reliable. Despite ambitious plans to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, Puerto Rico relies on fossil fuels for 94 percent of its electricity needs. However, since there are no Jones Act–compliant liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, Puerto Rico can’t just have LNG shipped in from continental U.S. Compliant coal vessels are few and far between too, so Puerto Rico is forced to source a majority of its fossil fuels from Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria.
For Puerto Rico’s citizens, the costs of these decisions are exorbitant. “For every dollar per barrel in additional costs imposed by the Jones Act, Puerto Rico is effectively paying an annual tax of $14 million,” according to Colin Grabow and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon of the Cato Institute. Meanwhile, th
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