LUMA reports 7,500 solar client connections in 2Q22
During the last three months of 2021, LUMA Energy brought the total of Puerto Rico Energy Bureau-approved, Federal Emergency Management Agency projects and programs to 132, representing $7.4 billion of federally funded work, the company said in its most recent quarterly report.
The company that manages the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)’s transmission and distribution network (T&D) offered a rundown of its achievements that also listed an ongoing activation of Net Energy Metering (NEM) service for more than 7,500 solar customers, bringing the fiscal year to date total to more than 15,000 connections.
The company presented the plan for the offshore wind study currently underway with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and participated in the procedure for a greater deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure in Puerto Rico, it noted.
The company also claimed that between October 2021 and December 2021, it replaced 861 utility poles, bringing the year-to-date total to more than 1,900 and to have responded and restored power to customers during more than 11,000 outage events.
“In spite of the continuing legacy challenges that predate LUMA, our 3,000+ strong LUMA team continues to make real progress,” said LUMA President Wayne Stensby. “The significant progress LUMA has made over these first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2022 continues to establish the foundation for recovery and transformation of Puerto Rico’s grid infrastructure and energy system over the coming years.”
“While there’s more work to do, we’re demonstrating our commitment to invest in critical training, prioritize safety and to building a new generation of Puerto Rican energy workers that will be better equipped to respond to future storms, power outages, provide world class customer service, help rebuild and improve the energy grid, while also empowering a clean energy future,” he said.
The 60-page second quarter report describes LUMA’s activities in detail and includes updated information about the company’s ongoing improvement and performance across key areas – including worker safety, customer service, sustainable energy, and system repairs and upgrades.
The second quarter report also cites that while progress is being made across multiple energy priorities, “lingering issues that predate LUMA including the deteriorated state of the energy system, lack of sufficient training, service backlogs and system limitations, and poor vegetation management, pose ongoing challenges that LUMA is working to overcome.”
In the report, the company confirmed it has begun work on six of the systen’s 37 worst-performing feeders and restored service to three 38 kV underground transmission feeders and 20 underground distribution feeders.
The company said that halfway into the fiscal year, it has spent 54% of its combined annual operational and non-federally funded capital budgets and does not anticipate requesting any increase of the Base Rate established by the Energy Bureau’s 2017 Rate Order for its operating costs.
The end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2022 marks LUMA’s seventh month operating the T&D system.
