Activated a focused incident management team as part of the preparations for the general elections.
(San Juan, October 15, 2024) – In the run-up to the general elections, LUMA announced today that it has already completed inspections of the polling stations, the Permanent Registration Boards (JIP) and command centers identified by the State Elections Commission (CEE). The company has already activated an Incident Management Team (IMT) to formulate response strategies and implement actions for the November 5 election process.
LUMA began coordination with the CEE in August. LUMA has been assessing key electrical installations and evaluated electrical service for over 1,300 polling stations (predominantly public schools), 47 Permanent Registration Boards and 17 operations centers to verify compliance with technical and safety requirements. Of that total, 28 polling places were identified as non-energized that required compliance work from the customer, including improvements to the connection point or missing meter.
In addition, LUMA crews inspected over 45 feeders that serve the JIPs to assess the need for vegetation clearance and address technical issues to improve the reliability of electrical services to specific sites during the event. “The team has maintained proactive and constant communication with the CEE as part of the work plan that we have drawn up and that was launched some time ago. Once the CEE shared the list and we visited the proposed polling places, we presented a detailed report and discussed the findings CEE staff and leadership. In the cases of facilities identified by the CEE that were not energized, the CEE must determine the options available to provide the electricity supply or relocate them,” said José Pérez Vélez, director of External Affairs of LUMA.
The polling stations were assessed as to whether the meters complied with applicable standards, the overall functionality of the installations, and any electrical hazards.
Regarding the work of the IMT, Pérez said that weekly meetings are held to manage the preparations and coordinate actions as part the process. This team will maintain LUMA staff at the CEE headquarters so that they can serve as a liaison between both entities and notify of any situation that impacts the service during the elections.
“Our Incident Management Team will respond to any breakdown that may arise as a result of bad weather or unforeseen events in Puerto Rico’s electrical system. On November 5, the IMT will expand its functions to lead the operational teams that will directly support the service of the voting centers throughout the island,” said Pérez.
According to Pérez, LUMA will cancel all planned upgrades that scheduled for November 4, 5 and 6 that require outages and will mobilize crews proactively across operational regions to ensure effective response on election day.
Acerca de LUMA
LUMA es una empresa puertorriqueña que, desde el 1 de junio de 2021, opera y administra el sistema de transmisión y distribución de energía eléctrica en Puerto Rico. LUMA es una empresa impulsada por la misión de transformar el sistema de transmisión y distribución eléctrico para proporcionarles a todos los puertorriqueños el servicio eléctrico confiable, resiliente, limpio y asequible que merecen. Como empresa centrada en el cliente, la fuerza laboral entera de LUMA está enfocada en brindarles un servicio excepcional y seguro a sus 1.5 millones de clientes.
