As of 1:00p.m., 700,000 customers are without power; company urgently reminds customers to stay away from downed powerlines and electrical equipment
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 14, 2024 – Tropical Storm Ernesto continues to impact the island, since it first hit around 10:00p.m. yesterday, and has brought up to 9 inches of rain in some areas and 70 mile per hour winds. LUMA has mobilized its Emergency Operations Center and is deploying crews to assess storm damage across Puerto Rico and begin the restoration process as outlined in its Emergency Response Plan. As of 1:00p.m., approximately 700,000 customers have lost service, with the greatest impact being in the Eastern and Central areas, and LUMA will focus restoration efforts on critical facilities, such as hospitals, water stations and treatment plants, when assessments are complete and it is safe for crews to respond.
“Ernesto continues to impact the island with strong winds and heavy rains, causing significant outages, and we are focused on conducting damage assessments and beginning restoration efforts where it is safe to do so. We want to stress to all our customers the need to stay safe and stay away from downed powerlines and electrical equipment. Given the ongoing impact of the storm, our highest priority right now is public and crew safety and working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power to all impacted customers once the storm passes,” said Juan Saca, LUMA President and CEO.
Important Update: Restoration Process
LUMA is responding to power outages as quickly and safely as possible where it is safe to do so, and reminds customers that it follows the restoration process established for emergency events in its Emergency Response Plan, which includes:
- Dispatching damage assessment and restoration crews to respond to outages as conditions safely allow.
- Utilizing emergency response resources including ground fleet vehicles and field employees to assess and repair damages.
- Conducting restoration work in a coordinated manner and under high standards of compliance with safety, prioritizing critical services including health, safety, transportation and communications facilities.
- Continuing repairs and restoring power to all affected customers as quickly and safely as possible when generation is available, prioritizing the repairs that impact the largest groups of customers first.
- Providing customers with timely updates and sharing estimated restoration times (ETRs) for specific regions and municipalities across official LUMA channels.
Keeping Customers Up to Date: Information Resources
LUMA will continue to provide regular updates on its response and restoration efforts to customers directly and through the news media, local radio, and the following LUMA customer resources:
- LUMA website: lumapr.com
- Twitter: twitter.com/lumaenergypr
- Facebook: facebook.com/lumapuertorico
- Instagram: instagram.com/lumapuertorico
- LUMA Outage Map: miluma.lumapr.com/outages/outageMap
- Mi LUMA App: miluma.lumapr.com
As a reminder, national or local news media requests must be sent to [email protected].
Urgent Public Safety Message: LUMA urges the public to put their safety first. Call LUMA immediately at 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA) to report any downed lines or electrical emergencies that require immediate attention. Remember to stay away from any low-hanging or downed power lines.
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.
