Company retains internationally recognized industry leading expert to assist with root cause of analysis; LUMA also announces intention to conduct first ever dynamic system simulation of Puerto Rico electric grid to understand why recent and past large outages have occurred
San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 19, 2022 – Yesterday, as part of LUMA’s commitment to provide transparency and regular updates on the progress of the ongoing investigation into the cause of the April 6 island-wide power outage event, the company filed its second update report with the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB). In today’s report, LUMA made two major announcements: (1) the selection of a third-party expert investigator and (2) plans to conduct the first ever dynamic system analysis in Puerto Rico’s history to better understand why such large-scale outages have occurred due to system stability issues.
“The April 6th island-wide power outage is the latest example of significant large-scale outages that have happened over the last five years in Puerto Rico. Finding out why the April 6th outage happened, and what must be done to prevent these types of large-scale outages in the future is critical. The hiring of Exponent, an internationally recognized firm with leading experts, is essential to conducting a methodical and detailed investigation that will find us the answers.” said LUMA President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Stensby.
Among the highlights detailed in the most recent update include the following:
Understanding the History of Large-Scale Outages: The report identified previous large-scale outages that occurred under the prior operator. Specifically, significant outage events on September 21st, 2016, April 18th, 2018, and January 7th, 2020, each affected more than 500,000 customers and lasted longer than three days for restoration to be completed. As part of the investigation of the April 6, 2022, outage, LUMA is determined to better understand why such outages happen in order to reduce the risks of similar outages in the future.
Selection of a Global Expert/Third Party Investigator: A third-party investigation firm, Exponent, has been contracted to assist with the investigation and analysis of this event. The investigation by Exponent has already commenced and is led by Dr. Richard Brown, an internationally recognized expert in major power outages, system reliability and root-cause analysis. Dr. Brown brings extensive experience in studying the root causes of major outage events, including prior work of this type in Puerto Rico.
First Ever Dynamic System Analysis in Puerto Rico: LUMA has started the process to conduct the first Dynamic System Analysis in Puerto Rico’s history with accurate generation units’ data and dynamic behavior. This analysis, which involves system simulations and generating units’ performance modeling, will help update decade-old legacy data and align system modeling with how the system operates under disturbances. This analysis will be necessary for recommending future actions to mitigate the impact on the overall system. The findings will also help LUMA more accurately study the impacts of large-scale renewable generation and energy storage systems to be connected to the system.
Restoration Activities at Costa Sur Switchyard: LUMA continues to take action to return the system to its pre-outage configuration and to repair and replace the damaged equipment. This includes the replacement of the damaged circuit breakers at the Costa Sur switchyard, as well as maintenance activities and other on-site efforts.
“The third-party oversight on investigation and looking into the cause of the April 6th island-wide outage is currently underway and will gather and analyze all the available data from LUMA, PREPA and independent generation facilities. Puerto Rico has endured large-scale outages like this several times in the past five years, with the April 6th event being the latest. While there is a clear desire for answers, conducting a proper investigation must follow a rigorous process, and we expect to provide these answers within the coming months.” said Dr. Richard Brown, Principal Engineer with Exponent.
Since the April 6th island-wide outage, LUMA has been actively working to determine the root cause of this event to mitigate similar events from occurring in the future. While the investigation takes place, LUMA remains committed to not only being transparent about the causes of such events, but to building an energy system that its 1.5 million customers can rely on.
Today’s filing comes one week after LUMA provided its preliminary findings to the PREB.
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, durable 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.
