By The Star Staff
LUMA Energy, the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system, said Monday that it is prepared to handle any emergencies caused by Tropical Storm Ernesto, but nonetheless there are going to be blackouts.
The private operator said it has prepared to mobilize more than 4,000 employees, including more than 1,100 field workers, and 2,800 vehicles for response to the storm, which was projected to bring high winds and especially heavy rain to the island later today and early Wednesday.
It has also acquired over $255 million in available transmission and distribution materials distributed throughout the island to respond to storms.
The private operator has also coordinated with LUMA mutual assistance collaborators, including the company’s parent companies, Quanta Services and ATCO, and its pre-established emergency assistance contractors in and outside of Puerto Rico. The objective is to mobilize field workers and additional utility resources to assist and support service restoration efforts if necessary.
As part of its efforts to ensure public safety, LUMA will actively communicate through available communication channels the importance of customers preparing for possible storm impacts. This includes the possibility of extended outages, depending on the storm’s impact on the electrical system.
LUMA officials also urged customers with life preservation equipment to call them to be part of a record they maintain.
The private grid operator reported that it was monitoring the storm on Monday, and that it was ready to activate the Emergency Response Plan depending on the projected impact of the disturbance.
“LUMA prepares throughout the year to respond to any emergency, including the continuous training of our more than 1,100 field workers, maintaining an updated inventory of the materials available in our warehouses, carrying out planned improvements that contribute to a stronger and [more] resilient [electric power system], as well as maintaining constant communication with all municipalities and emergency response collaborators,” reads part of a statement sent by the operator.
At 5 p.m. Monday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that Potential Tropical Cyclone 5 had strengthened into a tropical storm.
Given this scenario, LUMA Energy CEO Juan Saca called for people with life preservation equipment that requires electrical connection to contact the consortium at 1-844-888-5862 (LUMA) so that they can be added to a registry.
He told WKAQ-580 that the areas where such people reside would have priority when repairing parts of the electrical system damaged by the storm.
“It is important that everyone has the LUMA number,” Saca said, reiterating that the operator was fully prepared. “This is nothing new because we prepare every day.”
As part of storm preparations, Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Commissioner Nino Correa Filomeno and Director of Operations Ángel “Tito” Vázquez met on Monday morning with the interagency coordinators, and Ernesto Morales of the National Weather Service in San Juan gave an update. The NMEAD officials also met with the Public Safety Secretary Alexis Torres Ríos, commissioners of the Public Safety Department and agency heads.
As of 2 p.m. Monday the storm system that was to become Tropical Storm Ernesto was located some 670 miles southeast of San Juan with sustaining winds of 35 miles an hour and moving west at 26 miles per hour (mph). The disturbance was expected to pass over the Leeward Islands Monday night or early today, and to impact Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands tonight or early Wednesday.
The NHC warned that the system could bring rainfall accumulations of 3 to 6 inches to Puerto Rico, with maximum amounts of up to 10 inches in some areas. In addition, tropical storm conditions are anticipated with strong winds, storm surge that could raise water levels by 1 to 3 feet, and large and dangerous waves that could generate dangerous rip currents.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s captain of the Port of San Juan, meanwhile, established Port Condition X-RAY at 1 p.m. Monday for ports in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, due to the possibility of sustained gale force winds (winds greater than 39 mph) and storm surge from then-Potential Tropical Cyclone 5, which was expected to arrive within 48 hours from the port condition declaration.
The Coast Guard strongly advised the maritime community to remain alert and take necessary precautions due to the advisory. Tropical storm surge was in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
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