PRESS RELEASE

DR. MARIO MARAZZI‐SANTIAGO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

U.S. Energy Information Administration includes electricity generation data in PR

This makes it possible to individually access data from each ESA generating plant, among others.

San Juan, PR, July 12, 2018 — For the first time, data on each generating unit in Puerto Rico are accessible and have been included in the inventory of U.S. Energy Information Administration (LIA) which means a great achievement for the transparency of related information by the Electric Power Authority (EEA) and other energy companies in Puerto Rico.

This was confirmed by the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), representative of the Government of Puerto Rico to the EIA and which has been working for several years to integrate data from Puerto Rico into the statistical inventory of that federal entity. The EIA conducts several annual and monthly surveys of companies and entities that work in the energy industry in the United States, including the electricity sector. They allow us to know in a more timely manner the evolution of Puerto Rico's energy system.

In the case of Puerto Rico, previously it only conducted an annual survey of companies and entities in this sector. Since 2014, thanks to the coordination and initiative of the Institute, the ESA began to take part and participate in monthly electricity sector surveys that allow us to perceive short-term changes in consumption and in the price paid for electricity in Puerto Rico. Now, data is added that allows us to geographically visualize where the generating plants have been located and how much each one generates, among other details. Previously, information could only be accessed globally.

The executive director of the Institute, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, stressed the importance of continuing to add ESA statistics to the monthly surveys carried out by the EIA, since they allow us to evaluate sales, consumption and price more frequently, among other important aspects. “This is another great achievement for the transparency that our government aspires to, in every area. We will have monthly indicators of the operational status of each generating unit, which can only benefit Puerto Rico, just as the Government has announced a plan to profoundly transform the Electric Power Authority,” said the Executive Director of the Institute.

The data can be accessed through the Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. It can be seen that before 1958 all the plants were hydroelectric. While with few exceptions, those that were built and started operations between 1958 and 2009 run on oil and are still in operation. Renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, were added in 2011. After Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, most of the plants are operating. Some wind and solar plants have not yet been able to resume operations, but they hope to be able to do so this year.

By law, the Institute represents the Government of Puerto Rico before the EIA. In 2013, the Institute recommended that the EIA include ESA in its monthly survey. By 2014, the fruits of this initiative began to be seen with the inclusion of Puerto Rico in one of the monthly surveys. From then on, the working sessions between the EIA and the ESA were achieved, which has allowed the above-mentioned achievements.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the State Data Center (SDC) of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).

##

Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes/(787) 688-0401

‍

Data presented from the Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico

598 homicides and 190 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2022

The Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS, in English) established at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, presented data from the Puerto Rico Violent Deaths Report for the year 2022. The report reports that in 2022, there were 727 incidents of violent deaths, with a total of 809 fatalities. Of the total number of violent deaths, 598 were homicides and 190 were suicides, representing 97.4% of violent deaths.

In 2022, 73.9% of victims of violent deaths were reported in single or multiple homicide incidents and 23.5% were suicide incidents. Seven homicide-suicide incidents were reported, resulting in 14 fatalities. In addition, 6 violent deaths attributed to legal intervention (0.7%), four violent deaths from unintentional self-inflicted firearms (0.5%) and 11 violent deaths with undetermined intent (1.4%) were documented during this period. In 2022, approximately 9 out of 10 victims of violent deaths (89.6%) were men. The crude rate of violent deaths for Puerto Rico in 2022 was 25.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, 47.6 in men and 4.9 in women.

Of the 809 violent deaths recorded in 2022, 598 were homicides (73.9%). The majority of homicides occurred between the ages of 15 and 39. In these age groups, 73.2% of all homicides occurred among men and 66.0% among women. The primary mechanism of the homicides was firearms. In Puerto Rico, 93.6% of homicides were committed with firearms. Globally, firearm homicides account for 69.5%.

In 2022, nearly half of the homicides occurred in an environment of collective violence. 255 of the 598 homicides (42.6%) registered in 2022 occurred in a context related to criminal groups involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs.

In 2022, 28 fatal victims of family violence were reported. Family violence (violence between family members) includes child or adult abuse and violence against an intimate partner. Most of these cases were related to violence in an intimate or former partner environment (13 cases, 67.9%). There were 9 fatal incidents among family members (32.1%). The vast majority of victims of intimate partner violence were women (n= 13, 68.4%). More than half of these women were victims of their former spouse or former male partner (61.5%), while 30.8% were victims of their current spouse or partner. In addition, a firearm was used in 10 of the 13 femicides/femicides (76.9%).

As for suicides in Puerto Rico, the report highlights that the frequency is lower than that of homicides. However, as in homicides, suicides are more frequent in men (85.5%). In 2022, the crude suicide rate was 5.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, 10.6 in men (1 of 145 men) and 1.6 in women (1 of 788 women). The main mechanism was asphyxiation (62.3% in men and 53.6% in women).

The collection of this type of data involves fieldwork that usually takes more than two years, from the time the incident occurs until the collection, review and publication of the data is completed. Mariluz Bezares Salinas, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute of Statistics and co-principal investigator of the Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico, said: “This report not only reflects the magnitude of violent deaths in Puerto Rico, but it also provides a detailed overview of the circumstances and factors associated with the occurrence of violent deaths. This information is crucial for guiding public policy decisions and designing interventions that save lives and promote safer communities.”

“This violent death reporting system is a reliable, complete and unique reference source that helps describe vital information about the circumstances surrounding violent deaths in Puerto Rico. This data is essential for government agencies and community organizations to implement evidence-based prevention programs,” said Dr. Diego Zavala, epidemiologist and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS.

For the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, the Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System has been and is fundamental to understanding the magnitude and characteristics of this public health problem. “Data from 2022 allow us to identify crucial patterns and trends to develop more effective and efficient prevention strategies. Our commitment at the Institute of Statistics is to continue strengthening this statistical and epidemiological system to continue to have statistics, complete, reliable and quickly and universally accessible, on this topic,” argued Dr. Disdier.

The PRVDRS is an epidemiological surveillance system affiliated with the Institute of Statistics and designed to obtain a complete and standardized census of violent deaths in Puerto Rico. The PRVDRS began its participation in the National Violent Death Notification System (National Violent Death Reporting System, NVDRS) in September 2016 through a collaborative agreement granted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and accessible quickly and universally.

The 2022 Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico is available at: Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System. To learn about the Institute of Statistics, you can access it on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (formerly Twitter) (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

‍

Statistics Institute announces start of enrollment for its Academies and Training Workshops in data production and analysis