Four of the world’s largest oil suppliers are accused of cheating the Puerto Rico’s electric utility out of more than $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported. A class-action lawsuit alleges Vitol SA, Trafigura AG, the U.S. trading arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Brazilian producer Petrobras conspired to sell substandard oil at inflated prices to the now-bankrupt power authority, known as PREPA. Four years after it was filed, the suit faced a pivotal hearing yesterday in a San Juan courtroom. Plaintiffs say it’s their best shot at restitution for what they call a scheme that paved the way for catastrophe when Hurricane Maria tore through the electrical grid in 2017, plunging the island into darkness for months. They’re seeking at least $3 billion in damages. PREPA lies squarely at the heart of the economic woes that have hung over the commonwealth for a decade. The biggest U.S. public utility, with 1.5 million customers, charges some of the highest electric rates in the country. Yet it’s stuck with aging generating stations that suffer outages at about 12 times the frequency of utilities on the U.S. mainland. The companies paid undisclosed commissions and kickbacks, provided expensive gifts and threw lavish parties to win contracts, the suit said. They delivered “millions of barrels’’ of fuel that violated both environmental and quality standards, according to the suit. Suppliers and authority officials allegedly worked with local laboratories to fake compliance tests, it said. In addition to the oil companies, the lawsuit also names the former chief and deputy head of PREPA’s fuel-procurement office and three laboratories.
