LUMA encourages customers to also take proactive steps to prepare for emergencies and weather-related power outages.  

San Juan, Puerto Rico –Today, in accordance with its Emergency Response Plan (ERP), LUMA activated its Emergency Operations Center (LEOC) as it monitors Hurricane Beryl and prepares for potential weather-related impacts and outages. As part of this formal posture, LUMA is taking steps to respond to any impacts from the hurricane by instituting its Incident Command Structure and preparing to mobilize additional crews and critical resources.  

“While current forecasts have Hurricane Beryl tracking away from the island, the men and women of LUMA are preparing to respond. Our entire LUMA team trains and prepares year-round to respond to storms and emergency events and we will work closely with all our local and federal partners to mobilize our full efforts to ensure we are able to restore service as quickly and safely as possible,” said Juan Saca, LUMA President and CEO. 

LUMA Actions to Prepare and Respond to Emergency Events 

LUMA’s emergency response efforts, which are orchestrated from the LEOC, are multifaceted, and include a series of actions undertaken throughout the last 12 months to help plan, prepare for and respond to natural disasters and major emergency events, including: 

• Emergency Planning: Conducted 2 mock emergency exercises to practice response coordination with Puerto Rico and federal government agencies, including the PREMB, FEMA, PREPA and COR3. 
• Emergency Training: Completed 44,000+ hours of FEMA training. 
• Emergency Response Crews and Vehicles: Prepared to mobilize the more than 4,000 men and women of LUMA, including more than 1,000 field workers and 2,800 vehicles to respond and restore power in an emergency as quickly and safely as possible. 
• Emergency Inventory: Acquired more than $255 million in on-hand transmission and distribution materials for storm response. 
• Outreach to Essential Services: Maintained regular outreach to hospitals and critical facilities to highlight the importance of emergency preparedness, as well as outline efforts to contact lifeline customers directly during emergencies. 
• Emergency Coordination & Support: Coordinated with our mutual aid partners, including LUMA’s parent companies, Quanta Services and ATCO, as well as with our pre-established emergency aid contractors both within and outside of Puerto Rico to deploy additional utility field workers and resources to assist and support restoration efforts, as needed. 
• Customer Notifications & Updates: Launched responsive notifications with SMS text alerts to provide customers with restoration updates on reported service interruptions. 

“While the significant steps LUMA has taken over the past three years to install stronger poles, modernize substations, clear hazardous vegetation and deploy automation devices across the island has made the system more reliable and resilient, the energy system remains fragile compared to other modern systems. Even as we prepare to respond to any emergency, the reality is that no utility, no matter where they are located, can guarantee electric service during a storm. As standard practice across the industry, it is critically important that our customers take steps now to prepare for potential prolonged weather-related outages, and most importantly to stay safe.”   

LUMA is committed to continuing to keep its customers informed of the critical emergency actions it is taking to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Beryl through regular updates across multiple communications channels including LUMA’s social media, local radio, press releases. For more information on LUMA’s emergency preparedness, please visit www.progresodelumapr.com. 

Actions LUMA Customers Can Take Now to Prepare for Future Emergencies 

In preparations for emergencies, including hurricanes and tropical storms that may impact the electric system and cause prolonged power outages, it is critical that customers, small businesses, and all those we serve, take steps to prepare for future storms and emergencies.  

To help our 1.5 million customers better prepare, LUMA will be initiating a multi-month emergency preparedness campaign which will provide customers with important emergency tips and resources on how to best prepare and stay safe. As part of this effort, LUMA will again be reminding customers to stay away from falling or downed power lines and report an electrical emergency that requires immediate attention by call 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA). Among the emergency preparedness resources customers can access to prepare include:  

• Create an Emergency Plan: listo.gov/plan 
• Prepare An Emergency Kit: listo.gov/kit 
• Monitor Weather Sources: weather.gov/sju 
• Important Safety Tips: rdcrss.org/2ZwCUDU 

Strengthening the Grid for Emergencies 

To help improve the resiliency of the energy system, LUMA continues to strengthen critical areas of the energy system. Among the actions taken over the last 36-months include:  

• Improving Grid Resiliency: Replaced 12,500+ utility poles with stronger poles able to withstand 160+ mph winds, the strongest winds measured during Hurricane Maria, to strengthen reliability and system resiliency in severe weather. 
• Deploying Critical Technology: Installed 8,200+ grid automation devices to reduce the size and duration of outages, which have prevented 70+ million service interruption minutes since July 2023. 
• Modernizing Critical Equipment: Replaced 41 transmission and 24 distribution circuit breakers as part of the Substation Modernization Initiative to mitigate large-scale outages. 
• Removing Hazardous Vegetation: Cleared 4,500+ miles of powerlines of vegetation to minimize downed poles and reduce power outages. 
• Launching LUMA’s Island-wide FEMA-Funded Vegetation Safety and Reliability Initiative: that will strategically clear vegetation from 16,000 miles of powerlines, which will have the single largest near-term impact on improving reliability of any program.  

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.