AES 1 could return to the power grid today

Costa Sur 5 said possible to go back online Monday night

By THE STAR STAFF

After a number of power outages took place over the weekend, Energy Czar Josué Colón Ortiz said Monday that AES Unit 1 -- which contributes 250 megawatts -- is projected to come back online sometime between this afternoon and evening.

“AES Unit 1 is currently out of service. We held a meeting with the AES general manager this morning; they are finishing up the work,” Colón Ortiz said at a press conference. “The expectation for that unit is that it will come online tomorrow afternoon or evening.” 

He added Costa Sur Unit 5 could return to the power grid Monday night after repairs on a valve were completed on Sunday.

The breakdowns reduced the available generation margin over the weekend and raised concerns about potential outages during peak consumption hours.

Colón Ortiz said earlier in the press conference that not all outages recorded over the weekend were due to a lack of generation, and he held LUMA Energy responsible for certain load-shedding decisions.

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón also attributed some of the issues affecting generation at Costa Sur to problems within the transmission and distribution system.