At the PREB’s request, LUMA will share facts about two investment plans – Optimal and Constrained – for the future of Puerto Rico’s transmission and distribution electric system.
As LUMA experts will share in their testimonies, the Optimal Budget requested by the PREB presents a level of investment needed to significantly stabilize and improve the electric system, while the Constrained Budget prioritizes the importance of minimizing the impact on customers.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 12, 2025 – LUMA will attend the first of a series of hearings with the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) to discuss Puerto Rico’s electric system rate case, the importance of investing in the reliability and resiliency of the electric system, and the clear need to balance investments with a commitment to minimizing the impact on customer bills . During the hearings, LUMA will encourage the PREB to support the level of critical investments in the transmission and distribution (T&D) system needed to reduce outages, avoid millions of minutes of service interruptions over the next three years, and create a better and affordable energy future that its nearly 1.5 million customers expect and deserve.
“We strongly believe that we must prioritize our customers and fiscal responsibility while continuing to invest in Puerto Rico’s energy future. As directed by the PREB, we have proposed investment plans that will meet the electric system’s need for stability and reliability while working to minimize the impact on our customers. Working together, with customers’ priorities as the focus, we can and must balance the critical needs of the electric system and a commitment to being affordable,” said Juan Saca, LUMA President and Chief Executive Officer.
Commitment to Transparency
As part of its commitment to customer transparency, LUMA will reaffirm during the hearings the following: (1) it does not financially benefit in any form from the proposed investments in the system, (2) FEMA funds cannot be used for daily operations, and (3) the ability to limit the impact on customer bills from future investments remains severely limited by PREPA’s ongoing and unresolved bankruptcy. To address any public concerns or confusion, LUMA reiterates the fact that each investment plan – Optimal and Constrained – ensures that every cent customers pay as part of the T&D portion of their energy bill is invested back into the grid, vital energy services and daily operations.
Proposed Investment Plans: Prioritizing Customer Affordability and Investments
To meet the PREB’s request, LUMA officials will be discussing two proposed investment plans, the Optimal and Constrained Budgets, and the funding levels required to improve reliability and resiliency. The Optimal Budget is designed in response to the PREB’s request to submit an investment option that fully encompasses the total T&D system’s needs required to dramatically improve reliability and resiliency and help achieve the PREB’s reliability performance targets within five years. The Constrained Budget, which has the least impact on customer rates, focuses on select T&D improvements implemented over a longer period of time to reduce the impact on customer rates.
Benefits and Cost of Investment Plans
With respect to the Constrained Budget, LUMA’s expert analysis concludes that it will: (1) reduce the duration of outages experienced by customers by 9%, (2) reduce outage frequency by 8%, and (3) prevent 186 million customer interruption minutes by the end of 2028. The Constrained Budget would achieve these critical benefits while reducing the impact on customer rates to less than $0.58 a day.
The benefits of the Optimal Budget, and the higher level of investment, will: (1) reduce the duration of outages experienced by customers by 14%, (2) reduce outage frequency by 12%, and (3) prevent 240 million customer interruption minutes by the end of 2028. The impact of the Optimal Budget on customer rates would be less than $1.02 a day.
Final decision on the impact on rates and approval for the preferred budget will be determined by the PREB in the first half of 2026.
“We urge the PREB to prioritize customers without sacrificing investment in the electric system that suffered decades of financial and operational neglect under PREPA. This decision ultimately rests with the PREB, not LUMA. Whatever decision the PREB makes, every cent of the investments the PREB determines is necessary will go into rebuilding the island’s electric system. More importantly, and as we have done every year, LUMA will continue to live within our approved budget as part of our unwavering commitment to being fiscally responsible, while we take action every day to address the failures of the prior operator,” said Saca.
Prioritizing Customer Assistance
The entire LUMA team recognizes the impact that any changes in rates can have on customers and remains committed to affordability and supporting any customers who may be concerned about paying their electric bills. To date, LUMA has supported more than $185 million in critical financial assistance for customers in need. Payment plans, government assistance programs, and subsidized rates are available to eligible customers, and LUMA has already enrolled over 27,000 customers in payment plans to help them pay their bills. Customers can learn more about available financial assistance resources by visiting lumapr.com, calling 1-844-888-LUMA (5862) or visiting any of LUMA’s customer service centers.
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, cleaner, and affordable electrical service they deserve. As a customer-centric company, LUMA’s entire workforce of over 4,300 employees is focused on safely delivering an exceptional customer service experience to its nearly 1.5 million customers.
