LUMA Announces Timeline for Service Restoration for Customers Impacted by Tropical Storm Ernesto

After Tropical Storm Ernesto recently brought heavy rain and strong winds to Puerto Rico, LUMA announced that its round-the-clock efforts have restored power to 257,000 customers over the last 24 hours. As of 8 a.m. AST on Aug. 16, about 1.2 million customers have power in Puerto Rico, with about 257,000 customers without power due to the impact and effects on the electrical infrastructure from Tropical Strom Ernesto.

Recent Power Outages in Carolina and Eastern Puerto Rico
In the utility's ongoing restoration efforts, LUMA experienced two events on the evening of Aug. 15 that led to power outages affecting about 4,500 customers. The first incident occurred at the Cerámica Substation in Carolina, where a fire broke out on the metal-clad switchgear during energization. The second event involved a downed wire on a transmission line, impacting nearly 70,000 customers in the eastern part of the island. The utility is actively addressing both incidents, which will be resolved Aug. 16. 

Global Estimated Restoration Timeframe Released
Following the completion of 672 damage assessments and aerial helicopter patrols, LUMA released its global estimated timeframe for restoration where 90% of customers may be restored by Aug, 18. LUMA will also soon announce estimated restoration times for each service region, once crews complete their remaining damage assessments of the electric system and are better able to determine the full extent of the damage to the system across specific communities and regions throughout Puerto Rico.

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 18 regional meetings with mayors and members of their teams and more than 705 direct contacts with municipalities since activating its emergency response on Tuesday.

“While over 257,000 of our customers have been restored in the last 24 hours, we are now prioritizing the areas and our customers without power," says said Juan Saca, LUMA president and CEO. "Our crews are working tirelessly, in difficult conditions, to restore power and make critical repairs as quickly and safely as possible, especially in the areas of San Juan and Caguas as well as the islands of Vieques and Culebra – areas which saw the greatest impacts from the storm. We will continue to share regular updates with our customers and will continue to communicate and coordinate with our municipal leaders on our overall restoration efforts,” 

Restoration and Response Efforts Underway
LUMA continues to follow the restoration process in accordance with its Emergency Response Plan, which, as of 8 a.m. AST on Aug. 16, includes:

1. Dispatching damage assessment and restoration crews to respond to outages – with 672 aerial and ground assessments completed identifying the San Juan and Caguas regions and the islands of Vieques and Culebra as areas that have sustained the most damage, which includes broken poles, downed powerlines, damaged insulators, other hardware and vegetation impacts.
2. Utilizing emergency response resources including ground fleet vehicles and field employees to assess and repair damages – 1,598 utility workers have been deployed.
3. 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 152 critical facilities that will be prioritized for restoration, of which 36 have had power restored.
4. 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 –18 line segments have been re-energized and cleared of vegetation to support restoration efforts.
5. Providing customers with timely updates and sharing estimated restoration times (ETRs) across official LUMA channels – LUMA hosts six daily regional meetings with municipal leaders and has made 705 contacts with mayors since activating its emergency response, continues to share updates with customers and today announced the estimated restoration time for 90% customers affected by Tropical Storm Ernesto.

For more information, check out the recent service updates on T&D World's field-focused Electric Utility Operations page.