PUERTO RICO TODAY
LUMA CEO Juan Saca emphasizes strong commitment to Puerto Rico’s energy future, provides updates on actions, multiple new initiatives underway, and highlights importance of building on significant progress to serve the people of Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Today, in an open letter to all customers, LUMA President and CEO Juan Saca highlighted the historic progress the company has made, as well as the real challenges it still faces in continued efforts to transform and modernize Puerto Rico’s electric grid. In the letter, which was published in major media outlets across the island, Mr. Saca highlighted the detailed actions currently underway and upcoming to strengthen the system and continue improving service reliability for customers across the island.
LUMA’s open letter to customers can be found in El Nuevo Día, Primera Hora, El Vocero, Metro, La Semana, El Expreso, Es Noticias, La Esquina and Presecia PR.
Below are a few excerpts from Mr. Saca’s open letter to customers:
“All of us at LUMA recognize the deep and real frustration felt when outages occur, and that’s why our focus every day has to be and is to build a more reliable and resilient electric system.
While we are proud of the progress that has been made, the truth is that the power grid suffered decades of neglect and we still have a lot of work to do to overcome it.
Although we encountered many challenges due to the deteriorating and instable state of the electricity system, more than 95% of our customers have had concurrent service for more than 98% of the year when generation is available.
We are committed to continuing to increase the reliability with modernization projects, such as the installation of automation devices which have reduced the number of service interruptions for customers by over 120 million minutes.
Some of the measures being taken to increase the current and future reliability of the system are: Installing new transformers in substations; reconstructing critical transmission lines, including ones in southern Puerto Rico; replacing utility poles that can withstand 160 mph winds; continuing to clear vegetation to reduce outages, including the launch of a program to remove hazardous vegetation from 16,000 miles of powerlines; and starting or completing 131 FEMA-funded projects.
Whether it’s responding to major outages, increasing the resilience of the electric system, addressing the impact of vegetation on grid reliability, or preparing to respond to hurricanes or storms, LUMA is committed to building a more reliable and efficient electric system.”
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.
