LUMA PROVIDES ESTIMATED RESTORATION TIMELINES FOR
SERVICE REGIONS
San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2022 – Today, following the devastation of Hurricane Fiona, LUMA announced that it has restored electric service to 1 million of its 1.5 million customers. As part of the prioritization of restoration to critical customers, LUMA also shared it has restored power to 131 hospitals and 946 PRASA facilities. Following the company’s Emergency Response Plan, LUMA will now provide an estimated timeline for restoring service to 90% of customers in each of its six service regions. As part of its overall and regional restoration efforts, LUMA is continuing to shift its field utility workers to areas in the south and west of Puerto Rico that were hit hardest by the hurricane, with impacts that included severe flooding, and up to 103 mph winds.
“While we have restored approximately 70% of our customers to date – this island-wide emergency because of Hurricane Fiona is not over. Our LUMA teams remain focused on advancing more repairs and restoring more customers as quickly and safely as possible in every region across Puerto Rico. With more generation being added to the system, we continue to add more and more customers, as well as prioritize repairs across the grid. To help our customers understand where restoration efforts stand in their community, we will release service region restoration updates daily. We want to be clear, as we have said before, LUMA will not stop until every customer has power,” said LUMA Engineer Daniel Hernández.
Estimated Global Restoration Timeframe
LUMA has restored 1 million customers as of 12:00 PM, Tuesday. LUMA is continuing to project service will be restored to more than 64-77% of customers by Wednesday, September 28, 2022, while 77-91% of customers is anticipated to be restored by Friday, September 30. Restoration on a given day can fluctuate and continue to depend on a number of factors, including ongoing damage assessments and real-time repairs, adequate generation including energy reserves to protect and balance the system and access to critical facilities most impacted by the hurricane.
Estimated Regional Restoration Timeframe
In addition to its estimates for the full system, LUMA provided estimated restoration timeframes for restoring power to 90% of customers in the six service regions throughout the week. This more granular view shows the regions in the west and south of Puerto Rico are anticipated to take longer to restore, given the severity of Hurricane Fiona’s impacts. Restoration timeframes remain highly dependent on the same conditions as the global estimates. LUMA stressed that these service regions reflect the company’s operational areas as shown on maps available below and on its website at lumapr.com.
Utility Field Crews and Resources
Hurricane Fiona impacted many parts of the electric grid and generation facilities across Puerto Rico, especially in the Ponce and Mayagüez regions that suffered severe damage to roads and critical infrastructure. Grid and generation infrastructure in these regions were also significantly affected by the severe weather brought by Hurricane Fiona which included 12-30+ inches of heavy rain, winds between 85 and 103 mph and widespread flooding. LUMA is prioritizing repairs for essential critical services, like hospitals, and is increasing the number of crews in the regions hit hardest. Out of the over 2,000 utility workers mobilized across the island, 460 are now working in the Mayagüez region and 244 in the Ponce region for a total of approximately 35% of mobilized workers addressing areas with the most severe damage.
Daily Restoration Updates
LUMA is providing restoration updates via its website and social media and will continue to share updates on a regular basis each day. These updates, which are available on lumapr.com and its social media platforms, include an update on the number of customers restored, percentage of customers restored, available generation and information regarding the progress being made in LUMA’s operating regions.
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 grid they deserve. As a customer-centric company, LUMA’s entire workforce of more than 3,000 employees is focused on safely delivering an exceptional customer service experience to its 1.5 million customers
