Power Restored to One Million Customers in Puerto Rico

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 28, 2022

LUMA Energy on Sept. 27 announced that it has restored electric service to 1 million of its 1.5 million customers in Puerto Rico who lost power as a result of Hurricane Fiona.

As part of the prioritization of restoration to critical customers, LUMA also shared it has restored power to 131 hospitals and 946 Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority facilities.

As part of its overall and regional restoration efforts, LUMA is continuing to shift its field utility workers to areas in the south and west of Puerto Rico that were hit hardest by the hurricane, with impacts that included severe flooding, and up to 103 mph winds.  

LUMA is continuing to project service will be restored to more than 64-77% of customers by September 28, 2022, while 77-91% of customers are anticipated to be restored by Friday, September 30.

Restoration on a given day can fluctuate and continue to depend on a number of factors, including ongoing damage assessments and real-time repairs, adequate generation including energy reserves to protect and balance the system and access to critical facilities most impacted by the hurricane.

Hurricane Fiona impacted many parts of the electric grid and generation facilities across Puerto Rico, especially in the Ponce and Mayagüez regions that suffered severe damage to roads and critical infrastructure.

Grid and generation infrastructure in these regions were also significantly affected by the severe weather brought by Hurricane Fiona which included 12-30+ inches of heavy rain, winds between 85 and 103 mph and widespread flooding.

LUMA is prioritizing repairs for essential critical services, like hospitals, and is increasing the number of crews in the regions hit hardest. Out of the over 2,000 utility workers mobilized across the island, 460 are now working in the Mayagüez region and 244 in the Ponce region for a total of approximately 35% of mobilized workers addressing areas with the most severe damage. 

In June 2020, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority selected LUMA Energy to operate, maintain and modernize the electricity transmission and distribution system of PREPA for fifteen years through a public-private partnership.