San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 3, 2021—LUMA president and CEO Wayne Stensby testified today before the Puerto Rico Senate’s Committee on Strategic Projects and Energy chaired by the Hon. Javier Aponte Dalmau regarding Senate Resolution 1 to “carry out an exhaustive investigation on the granting of the contract between the Electric Power Authority and LUMA Energy.”
During his testimony, Stensby set the record straight with regards to misinformation about key aspects of the transaction that has been spread to date, when LUMA has been effectively operating Puerto Rico’s electric power transmission and distribution system since June 1, 2021.
During his testimony, Stensby recalled the 18-month competitive procurement process conducted by the Puerto Rico Public Private Partnerships Authority (P3A) that led to LUMA being selected to operate the T&D system and its objectives. “The substantial gains in safety, customer service, reliability, and resiliency required under the Operation and Maintenance Agreement, will translate into billions of dollars of benefit to the Puerto Rican economy, a measurable leap in economic competitiveness, better working conditions for employees, and tangible, meaningful
improvements in the quality of daily life of Puerto Ricans,” he said.
Information about career opportunities and labor relations was also shared with the Senate Committee, including such highlights as the more than 100,000 job applications that have been received at LUMA so far, and the fact that LUMA has begun negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with the “Unión Insular de Trabajadores Industriales y Construcciones Eléctricas” (“UITICE”) after it reached majority representation for certain LUMA bargaining units.
Stensby said the negotiations represent a significant breakthrough for electric power system workers, since prior collective bargaining agreements have not been negotiated in over 12 years.
Stensby also shared data on LUMA’s agile customer experience operation, through which the company serves an average of 10,000 in-person customers daily at 25 service centers island wide, including Vieques and Culebra locations, which had been closed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that, through its various customer contact channels, LUMA has managed as many as 30,000 calls per day during the first weeks of operation, registered over 500,000 users for the Mi LUMA web portal, and made more than 1,500 calls to the Mayors of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities through a dedicated team of Key Account representatives to validate their areas of need.
The president and CEO also told the Senate Committee that LUMA’s operational teams provide coverage 7 days a week via 12-hour shifts six days of the week and staggered Saturdays and Sundays off, as well as call-out crews to cover the nightshift. He reminded the Committee members that, although LUMA had to start operations with a single location to dispatch crews, due to substantial and well documented security challenges, the company is presently operating out of 18 Technical Centers across Puerto Rico, including facilities that experience blockages from protestors, vandalism and where LUMA employees experience harassment from violent opposition.
The testimony also included an update on LUMA’s System Remediation Plan (SRP), the comprehensive roadmap of scopes, resources, timelines, milestones, cost estimates and remediation achievement criteria that the company will deploy over a 10-year period to improve the utility from its current condition to Prudent Utility Standard levels. The initial SRP was developed during the Front-End Transition and was approved by the P3A and the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau.
In closing, Stensby told the Committee that “Puerto Ricans deserve much better service than they have historically received from their electric utility. LUMA is listening to Puerto Ricans and leveraging experienced and knowledgeable resources to accomplish the urgent transformation that this electric power system needs to support improved quality of life and increased economic development in Puerto Rico for years to come.
LUMA is here to bring change and to be an accountable partner that will deliver the transformation of the electricity grid with improved customer service, increased emergency preparedness, and a safer workforce to deliver overall economic recovery for the island. This is the kind of work our parent companies have accomplished successfully across the globe and the critical work that we must do for all Puerto Ricans.”
###
About LUMA:
LUMA is a Puerto Rican company that, since June 1, 2021, operates Puerto Rico’s electric power transmission and distribution system. LUMA is a mission-driven company dedicated to transforming the electric transmission and distribution system to provide all Puerto Ricans with the reliable, resilient, and affordable power grid they deserve. As a customer-centric company, LUMA’s entire workforce is focused on safely delivering an exceptional customer service
experience to our more than 1 million customers.
