Company commits to reduction 55 Million Customer Minute Interruptions (CMI) over next 90 days/Reduce outage impact by as much as 20% in next 90 days
San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2022 – Today, LUMA announced a bold new initiative that will directly target and implement a series of immediate actions to address the root cause of power outages. The new initiative, named the Outage Reduction and Response Initiative (ORRI), is part of an increased operational activity designed to reduce outages experienced by customers by 55 Million Customer Minute Interruptions (CMI) in the next 90 days – which will represent a 20% improvement for highly impacted customers.
“We’ve heard the public frustration regarding outages and are determined to address this issue directly with an urgent series of actions. “We are here to work for the people of Puerto Rico. We have a plan. We are going to follow through on that plan. We will succeed in reducing outages and things will get better,” said Duke Austin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quanta Services, one of LUMA’s parent companies.
The seven key organizational and operational actions that will define ORRI include:
- Establishing a New LUMA Outage Reduction Task Force that will Lead ORRI and the Operational Effort to Reduce Outages Across the System
- Increasing Outage Response Crews and Resources
- Enhancing Vegetation Management to Target Critical Areas
- Installing New Automated Devices to Reduce the Number of Customers Impacted
- Increasing Inspections of Critical Substations and Lines that Serve Essential Services Like Hospitals and Work with these Facilities to Assess Status of Back-up Generation and Resiliency
- Expanding Aerial Patrols of Key Lines with Thermal Imaging to Identify and Repair Potential Failure Points
- Accelerating Inspections of Substations to Identify and Address Issues
The first phase of the new initiative will begin in the next 30 days, the company said.
“We know that our customers are tired of experiencing outages across Puerto Rico. That is why through this important new initiative we will be mobilizing resources, manpower and focus towards directly addressing the root cause of outages,” said Kathy Roure, Director of the new Outage Reduction and Response Initiative. “We are determined to get better and make a difference and build on the actions we’ve already made. This is a sincere commitment. We must do better, and we will,” she added.
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.
