TARGETED RESTORATION EFFORTS CONTINUE FOR CUSTOMERS IN MOST HEAVILY IMPACTED AREAS
San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 10, 2022 – Today, LUMA announced that it has restored electric service to 1,447,464 customers, or 99% of total customers across the island following Category 1 Hurricane Fiona. As part of its initial steps to transition to normal operations, LUMA will continue targeted restoration efforts in the areas most heavily impacted by Hurricane Fiona, which require more extensive efforts to repair the local electric infrastructure.
“In less than two weeks following a Category 1 hurricane, LUMA restored power to over 90% of customers – a historic pace of restoration for the island after a major hurricane. As of today, LUMA has also now successfully restored power to 99% of our customers. While the over 3,000 men and women of LUMA have worked hard to restore power under incredibly difficult conditions, we will continue our targeted restoration efforts in the most heavily impacted areas to ensure that every customer’s power is restored.” said LUMA Engineer Daniel Hernández.
Current Restoration Updates – Specific Service Regions
As of 10:00 AM, LUMA has restored electric service to 99% of total customers. In terms of specific service regions, LUMA has restored service to:
- 100% of customers in both San Juan and Bayamón
- 99% of customers in both Caguas and Arecibo
- 97% of customers in the service region of Ponce
- 94% of customers in the service region of Mayagüez
LUMA has also fully restored service to 100% of hospitals, and 99% of all PRASA water facilities.
Transitioning to Normal Operations – Factors that Impact Outages
With 99% percent of customers resorted, LUMA stressed that because of weather, availability of generation, ongoing repairs or other factors, the 99% of customers whose power has been restored following Hurricane Fiona may experience normal service interruptions. It is important to note that these service interruptions are not reflected in the total customers restored reporting. Customers whose power was restored following Hurricane Fiona and who experience a service interruption are encouraged to call 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA).
Targeted Restoration Efforts in Hardest Hit Areas
As LUMA prepares to transition back to normal operations, its targeted restoration efforts continue in the Mayagüez and Ponce service regions which experienced the strongest parts of Hurricane Fiona with winds reaching over 100 miles per hour and over 30 inches of rain that caused severe floods, mudslides, and washed-out roads and bridges.
As evidenced by photographic evidence and on the ground damage assessments, critical parts of the electric grid and generation facilities in these regions were severely damaged. Crews are continuing to make progress restoring power despite ongoing local weather challenges, difficult terrain, as well as roads washed away from Hurricane Fiona. To address these issues, crews are also utilizing helicopters where possible to bring crews and equipment in for local repairs.
Ponce Service Region Updates – October 10, 2022
- 97% of customers restored
- 193 damage assessments completed to date
- 157 distribution feeders energized to date
- Work underway today to restore 19 distribution feeders
Mayagüez Service Region Updates – October 10, 2022
- 94% of customers restored
- 190 damage assessments completed to date
- 161 distribution feeders energized to date
- Work underway today to restore 12 distribution feeders
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, cleaner, 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.
