Mayagüez REGIONS
Company warns of enduring restoration challenge if generation availability declines over coming hours or days.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 28, 2022 – Today, LUMA announced that it has restored electric service to 80% of its 1.5 million customers in 10 days – which exceeds its estimated restoration timeframe targets that were provided on Monday. Specifically, LUMA has successfully met and surpassed its global restoration estimate of restoring at least 77% of customers by Wednesday, September 28 and has now successfully restored 90% of customers for two of its six service regions, meeting the company’s regional restoration timeframes.
“While we have restored 80% of our customers to date, LUMA crews remain 100% focused on restoring service to all of our 1.5 million customers across Puerto Rico. We are now shifting resources to the areas hit hardest by Fiona and we will continue to make progress to restore more customers every single day. LUMA will not stop until all our customers have power,” said LUMA Engineer Daniel Hernández.
Utility Field Crews and Resource Mobilization
Hurricane Fiona severely impacted critical 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. The electric grid and generation infrastructure in these regions were specifically impacted by 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, 432 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.
Estimated Global Restoration Timeframe
LUMA has restored over 1.17 million customers as of 4:00 PM, Wednesday. LUMA is continuing to project that 77-91% of customers will 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
LUMA has restored power to over 90% of customers in the service regions of Bayamón and San Juan and is on track to meet additional regional estimated timeframes for restoration in the other four service regions. These more granular estimates show 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.
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, the 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
