Wayne Stensby, president of Luma Energy -in charge of the transmission and distribution of electricity in Puerto Rico- assured this Sunday that the company “is well prepared for the hurricane season 2022”, entering its peak stage.
This was indicated by Stensby in a press release after presenting the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) 2022, which he described as one that “represents the model of how Luma responds when a serious emergency, such as a hurricane, occurs”.
“The preparation for emergencies is a daily and year-round priority for the 3 000 men and women of LUMA,” said Stensby at a time when four tropical disturbances are being watched by experts.
“We are working closely with our government partners at the local and federal levels to ensure that we support Puerto Ricans during any critical emergency,” he said.
The ERP, presented to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, breaks down planning and preparation efforts to prepare for emergencies, train employees, increase inventory and coordinate with government agencies to support customers during the hurricane season 2022.
Luma, in turn, listed several measures in view of any atmospheric event, such as having installed crucial equipment at the company’s Emergency Operations Center and purchased supplies to support ongoing emergency operations.
Since January, it assured that it has carried out several emergency preparedness simulation exercises with internal participants and with Puerto Rican and federal agencies.
In addition, they improved their collaborations with the Federal Agency for the Management of Emergency Services and the Department of Energy to strengthen relationships and coordinate capabilities, services, assistance technical expertise and engineering experience during disasters and incidents that require an organized Federal Response.
Luma also indicated that it has mutual assistance contracts with the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation, the Edison Electric Institute and the American Public Power Association in case additional resources are needed for restoration or response to critical events.
He also indicated that he has invested close to 130 million dollars in supply inventory for emergencies to be used in emergencies and/or to support other critical utility functions.
Luma’s inventory of transmission and distribution materials includes light bulbs, transformers, poles, wiring and other components that are available for daily operations, emergency needs, and construction.
Available materials include approximately tea 21,000 poles, 17 million feet of “conductors”, wires and wiring, 3.200 transformers, 58,000 LED luminaires, 154, 000 insulators, 1,800 switches and circuit breakers and 29,000 crossheads.
Luma also said that she has more than 1 ,000 field workers, from guards to substation technicians, who assured that they are trained, available and equipped to respond to a serious emergency.
Among them, he acknowledged that there are many who have extensive experience in responding to large-scale natural disasters, including hurricanes.
Luma has also with a fleet of over 1, 000 units, including 573 vehicle light-duty trucks, 558 heavy-duty crane trucks and four helicopters to respond to emergencies.
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