LUMA restores service to over 675,000 customers, has restored service to more than 90% of customers in each region, and continues round-the-clock efforts to achieve 90% restoration for the 6 municipalities with the largest remaining damage impacts from Tropical Storm Ernesto
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 18, 2024 – Today, LUMA announced its 24-hour emergency operations to repair the system and restore service to customers impacted by Tropical Storm Ernesto are continuing, with over 1.4M total customers back in service in just 96 hours following the storm. As of 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, more than 96% of all customers, or 1.4 million, have power and LUMA crews continue working day and night to restore service to 58,000 customers that remain without power, including the hardest hit areas of Caguas, Carolina, and Mayagüez service regions.
“As part of our commitment to keeping our customers updated on our restoration work, we are sharing estimated timeframes for 90% restoration for the 6 municipalities where less than 90% of the customers have had service restored. We will continue to work with our federal and local emergency partners, including coordination with our mayors, as we focus our restoration efforts on these impacted municipalities, and we will not stop until every one of our customers has power,” said Juan Saca, LUMA President and CEO.
LUMA encourages customers to call 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA) if they continue to experience any service interruptions as crews work to restore service to the remaining 4% of impacted customers.
Municipal Estimated Restoration Timeframes
LUMA released estimated timeframes to restore power to 90% of all customers in 6 municipalities that have the greatest outstanding impacts from Tropical Storm Ernesto. These municipalities may experience variations in restoration progress due to the nature of the repairs to the local electrical system.
| Municipality | Estimated Timing for 90% Restoration | % Restored |
| Adjuntas | Sunday, Aug. 18 | 78% |
| Fajardo | Monday, Aug. 19 | 69% |
| Lares | Monday, Aug. 19 | 82% |
| Las Marias | Monday, Aug. 19 | 71% |
| Maricao | Monday, Aug. 19 | 52% |
| Rio Grande | Monday, Aug. 19 | 80% |
All data is approximate and as of 4.a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18
Municipality calculations are determined based on the best available information LUMA has at the time of reporting. In those cases where distribution feeders are split across municipalities, calculations include attribution of distribution circuits to the municipality which contains the majority of customers. ETRs remain subject to weather and anything which might interfere with safe work conditions.
Coordination and Communications with Mayors
As part of LUMA’s commitment to communicating and coordinating preparation and restoration efforts before, during, and after the storm, the company has been actively engaging with mayors and municipal leaders daily as they are vital to supporting LUMA crews working to restore power to customers. These outreach efforts include daily regional meetings with mayors and members of their teams and over 1,084 direct contacts with municipalities since activating its emergency response on Tuesday.
Restoration and Response Efforts Underway
LUMA continues to follow the restoration process in accordance with its Emergency Response Plan, which, as of 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, includes:
- Dispatching damage assessment and restoration crews to respond to outages – with 2,786 aerial and ground assessments completed identifying the damages in the Caguas, Carolina, and Mayagüez service regions that sustained the most damage, which includes broken poles, downed powerlines, damaged insulators, other hardware and vegetation impacts.
- Utilizing emergency response resources including ground fleet vehicles and field employees to assess and repair damages – over 1,700 field workers have been deployed.
- Conducting restoration work in a coordinated manner and under high standards of compliance with safety, prioritizing critical services including health, safety, transportation and communications facilities – assessments identified 65 critical facilities that will be prioritized for restoration, of which 63 have had power restored.
- Continuing repairs and restoring power to all affected customers as quickly and safely as possible when generation is available, prioritizing the repairs that impact the largest groups of customers first – 54 transmission line segments have been re-energized and cleared of vegetation to support restoration efforts. Additionally, 334 of 335 substations are in service.
- Providing customers with timely updates and sharing estimated restoration times (ETRs) across official LUMA channels – LUMA has completed 1,084 direct contacts with mayors or their representatives since activating its emergency response, and continues to share updates with customers, host daily regional meetings with mayors, and today announced the municipal estimated restoration times for 90% customers affected by Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Keeping Customers Up to Date
Regular updates will continue to be available through the news media, local radio, and the following LUMA customer resources:
- LUMA website: lumapr.com
- Twitter: twitter.com/lumaenergypr
- Facebook: facebook.com/lumapuertorico
- Instagram: instagram.com/lumapuertorico
- LUMA Outage Map: miluma.lumapr.com/outages/outageMap
- Mi LUMA App: miluma.lumapr.com
As a reminder, national or local news media requests must be sent to [email protected].
Urgent Public Safety Message: LUMA urges the public to put their safety first. Call LUMA immediately at 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA) to report any downed lines or electrical emergencies that require immediate attention. Remember to stay away from any low-hanging or downed power lines.
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.
