By EFE
Aug 16, 2024, 1:43 PM EDT
San Juan – LUMA Energy, the company in charge of the transmission and distribution of electric power in Puerto Rico, expects a “global restoration” of its service by next Sunday, affected by the passage of Hurricane Ernesto on the island.
This was stated at a press conference on Friday by the president of LUMA Energy, Juan Saca, who stated that “the estimated time for global restoration,” after the passage of the then tropical storm Ernesto between Tuesday night and Wednesday, is “conservatively, for Sunday morning.”
At the moment, and according to data published by LUMA on its website, at 12:15 (16:15 GMT), electricity service has been restored to 83% of its subscribers. 249,090 customers remain without electricity.
According to the statement, in about 36 hours they have restored service to some 500,000 subscribers of the more than 750,000 who were left in the dark last Wednesday.
“Our crews are working hard under difficult conditions to restore service and make critical repairs as quickly and safely as possible, especially in San Juan and Caguas and on the islands of Vieques and Culebra,” Saca said.
The president of LUMA explained that these areas suffered the greatest impacts during the passage of the storm.
According to Saca, the company’s technicians are expected to be able to restore 90% of the service by Friday night.
He said fallen trees, damaged insulators and Ernesto’s winds were the main causes of the power outage.
Saca, on the other hand, regretted a blackout on Thursday night that affected some 70,000 customers in the eastern part of the island due to a fallen cable on a transmission line.
Fire in switch control cabinet
Another 4,500 customers were also affected last night by a fire in the control cabinet of a switch at the Cerámica Substation in Carolina during the energization process.
“We are working on both incidents, which will be resolved today,” he said.
One of the many clients that still remains without electricity is the Municipal Hospital of Cayey (center), where the Integrated Cancer Medical Center of Puerto Rico operates, but which is currently working with an electric generator.
“We call on the regional management of LUMA Energy to urgently pay attention to the energization of this facility that not only serves the city of Cayey, but also neighboring towns,” said Cayey Mayor Rolando Ortiz in a statement.
They would recruit electrical technicians from Orlando
For her part, the Secretary of the Interior, Noelia García, told a radio station that LUMA Energy is seeking to recruit some 125 electrical technicians from the city of Orlando, Florida (USA) to help restore and reinforce the energy system.
This has generated some criticism for not prioritising local talent and seeking to recruit staff from outside the island.
In addition, Saca told the newspaper El Nuevo Día that LUMA needs an additional $200 million through a tariff review.
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