LUMA is focused on restoring service to the approximately 407,000 customers that remain without power as the company simultaneously conducts damage assessments
LUMA encourages customers to keep a safe distance from all powerlines
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 15, 2024 – Yesterday, LUMA’s Emergency Operations Center (LEOC) activated its restoration process, as part of its Emergency Response Plan, to address impacts from Tropical Storm Ernesto, utilizing pre-positioned crews to restore service to customers where it is safe. As of 1:00 p.m. AST, LUMA has successfully restored power to more than 300,000 customers and restoration efforts will continue today as the company works to restore the approximately 407,000 customers that remain without power, especially in eastern and central areas of Puerto Rico and its neighboring islands of Vieques and Culebra, which received the greatest impact. LUMA continues to work closely with local and federal agencies and the Puerto Rican government to ensure a united and efficient storm response effort as it remains focused on restoring service to its impacted customers.
“LUMA has been and will continue to work around the clock to conduct damage assessments, reenergize the affected portions of the grid, and restore power to impacted customers. We anticipated significant weather-related impacts to Puerto Rico and proactively deployed vegetation and restoration crews to the islands of Vieques and Culebra to ensure we could support those communities. Please know that our team is here, we are responding, and we will not stop until every customer’s power is restored,” said Juan Saca, LUMA President and CEO.
Restoration and Response Efforts Underway
As soon as weather conditions were safe, LUMA immediately dispatched pre-positioned crews, trained in emergency response, across the impacted regions to conduct damage assessments, which are critical for determining repairs before safely restoring power to all impacted customers. LUMA continues to follow the restoration process in accordance with its Emergency Response Plan, which, of 1:00 p.m. AST on Thursday, includes:
- Dispatching damage assessment and restoration crews to respond to outages as conditions safely allow – aerial and ground assessments are currently underway with 410 completed assessments identifying damages to equipment, including broken poles and downed powerlines, a flooded substation, and vegetation coming into contact with transmission and distribution infrastructure.
- Utilizing emergency response resources including ground fleet vehicles and field employees to assess and repair damages – 1,598 utility workers have been deployed.
- Conducting restoration work in a coordinated manner and under high standards of compliance with safety, prioritizing critical services including health, safety, transportation and communications facilities – assessments identified 116 critical facilities that will be prioritized for restoration.
- Continuing repairs and restoring power to all affected customers as quickly and safely as possible when generation is available, prioritizing the repairs that impact the largest groups of customers first –22 line segments have been reenergized to support restoration efforts, restoring power to over 300,000 customers.
- Providing customers with timely updates and sharing updates on damage assessments and restoration efforts across official LUMA channels – LUMA hosted six regional meetings with municipal leaders yesterday and continued to share updates with customers.
Tropical Storm Impacts
The storm impacted Puerto Rico starting shortly after at 10:00 p.m. AST Tuesday night and has brought up to nine inches of rain in some areas and winds of up to 70 miles per hour, resulting in debris, mudslides and flooding, which caused damage to transmission and distribution infrastructure. LUMA continues to conduct assessments to determine the full extent of damage to the system and complete repairs needed and restore power. Based on the preliminary damage assessments completed as of August 15th at 1445 hours, the San Juan LUMA Region has the most documented damages, followed by Caguas LUMA Region.
Keeping Customers Up to Date
LUMA will continue to provide regular updates on its response and restoration efforts to customers directly and through the news media, local radio, and the following LUMA customer resources:
- LUMA website: lumapr.com
- Twitter: twitter.com/lumaenergypr
- Facebook: facebook.com/lumapuertorico
- Instagram: instagram.com/lumapuertorico
- LUMA Outage Map: miluma.lumapr.com/outages/outageMap
- Mi LUMA App: miluma.lumapr.com
As a reminder, national or local news media requests must be sent to [email protected].
Urgent Public Safety Message: LUMA urges the public to put their safety first. Call LUMA immediately at 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA) to report any downed lines or electrical emergencies that require immediate attention. Remember to stay away from any low hanging or downed power lines.
About LUMA
LUMA is a Puerto Rican company that, since June 1, 2021, operates and manages the electric power transmission and distribution system in Puerto Rico. LUMA is a company driven by a mission to transform the electrical transmission and distribution system to provide all Puerto Ricans with the reliable, resilient, clean, and affordable electrical service they deserve. As a customer-centric company, LUMA’s entire workforce is focused on safely delivering an exceptional customer service experience to its 1.5 million customers.
