2025 HURRICANE SEASON AND BEYOND
Letter from LUMA to P3A emphasizes its year-round emergency preparation, in stark contrast to PREPA’s decades of maintenance neglect
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Feb. 10, 2025 – As part of LUMA’s continued commitment to transparency and accountability, on Feb. 5, LUMA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Juan Saca, sent a letter to the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A) reiterating, once again, LUMA’s continued compliance with the Operation and Maintenance Agreement (OMA), specifically regarding the company’s Emergency Response Plan (ERP) and its efforts to prepare for and respond to emergencies.
In the letter to the P3A, LUMA provides the actual facts about the scope of its commitment, which includes updating its ERP, as well as ongoing transmission system maintenance and inspection practices to strengthen the grid against major storms and hurricanes. As noted in LUMA’s correspondence to the P3A, LUMA is determined to never repeat the failures of PREPA during past hurricanes, even as it continues to address the effects of PREPA’s history of operational, managerial and financial failures and neglect on the Puerto Rico electric system.
“LUMA remains committed to transparency, sharing the facts about the measurable progress we are making to improve the island’s electric system, as well the challenges we continue to face due to PREPA’s long history of failures. As we proved by our team’s effective performance during hurricanes and storms that have impacted Puerto Rico under our tenure, LUMA will continue to prioritize emergency preparedness and strengthening the system year-round. Furthermore, our entire LUMA team is determined to never repeat PREPA’s catastrophic failures during past storms, such as the months of blackouts following Hurricane Maria. Looking ahead, we will continue to make progress and remain focused on working together to build upon the progress made to be ready for when the next major storm strikes,” said Juan Saca, LUMA President and Chief Executive Officer.
Included below are key excerpts from the letter from LUMA to the P3A:
“Since taking over operations following the operational, financial, and management failures of PREPA, including ineffective and deficient emergency preparedness and response, LUMA and our dedicated team has, unlike PREPA, consistently prioritized emergency response, restoration and planning for the effects of major storms and extreme weather impacting Puerto Rico.”
“The value of such professional planning and training is reflected in our successful response to seven tropical storms and hurricanes, in stark contrast to PREPA’s record.”
“These actions include preparing an emergency workforce of more than 4,000 men and women who are ready to mobilize, conducting more than 49,000 hours of FEMA training on emergency management best practices, coordinating with emergency partners, critical services and mayors to maintain regular communication about LUMA’s progress and work, and launching customer notifications and updates to provide customers with restoration updates on reported service interruptions when outages do happen.”
“PREPA and its leaders neglected the proper maintenance actions, essential vegetation management and necessary upgrades to the electric system’s infrastructure, resulting in a system that ranked among the worst in the world and unable to withstand common rain showers.”
“LUMA, on the other hand, has taken significant actions to undo PREPA’s legacy of failure. Progress to date includes replacing 21,600 utility poles with more storm-resilient infrastructure, clearing nearly 5,500 miles of overgrown vegetation from powerlines and installing nearly 10,000 grid automation devices.”
“Despite incessant and politically motivated attempts to distract and delay us, LUMA remains singularly focused on doing everything we can to prepare and harden the island’s electric system ahead of the upcoming hurricane season.”
To read LUMA’s full response to the P3A, visit: www.lumapr.com/la-verdad
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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.
