
LUMA personnel began work on lines 100 and 200 in Santa Isabel to add redundancy for customers.
By The STAR STAFF
As anticipated during June, LUMA personnel began work on lines 100 and 200 in Santa Isabel to add redundancy for customers in Santa Isabel, Coamo, and neighboring towns, the firm said Tuesday.
“Since June 9, we have taken a series of specific measures to guarantee that our customers in Santa Isabel, Coamo, and Aibonito have electrical service, and this is one of the actions to provide greater stability and resilience,” the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system said in a statement.
These construction works will include installing more than 45 transmission structures and over 50,000 feet of cables along the PR-1 highway between Salinas and Santa Isabel. The company will fund the project, which will take four to six weeks and cost approximately $2 million, as part of its operational budget.
The 38,000 volt (38kv) lines, which have been out of service since Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017, are part of LUMA’s reconstruction plan. In January 2022, LUMA formally submitted to FEMA a project for the reconstruction of both lines from Guayama to Ponce for $192 million. For this reason, LUMA had to request all endorsements from federal and state agencies before beginning work on this segment of the line.
“We need to complete these construction works correctly and with the endorsement of all relevant agencies so as not to compromise the reconstruction project with federal funds for the complete lines. We urgently need to give more redundancy to this area as soon as possible, which is why we have responsibly dedicated significant resources to repair the line in Santa Isabel,” confirmed Hendzon Martínez, director of LUMA transmission lines, who has over 20 years of experience in the system.
“We have remained in constant communication with area mayors to keep them informed of the progress of the work, and we are confident of the benefits to their communities when we complete the construction work.” Martínez added.
LUMA substation engineering and operations personnel continue coordinating plans to transport the transformer stored in Maunabo to the Santa Isabel substation for installation as quickly and safely as possible. On Monday, LUMA employees carried out visual inspections and other work before the start of transportation. In addition, operations personnel have planned vegetation management and maintenance work on the main feeder of Maunabo and the substation located in the urban area of the municipality to increase the resilience and reliability of the system in the area.
Meanwhile, workers completed work in Santa Isabel to disconnect the damaged transformer and remove it from its base for transfer to other LUMA facilities.
“We continue to focus on completing the necessary work to safely transfer the transformer located in Maunabo and provide stability to the electrical service to our customers in Santa Isabel and Coamo.” Alejandro González stated, director of lines of the Central and South division of LUMA. “We are working with commitment, security, and a sense of urgency with the good of our clients in mind,” he added.
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