LUMA Energy stopped paying pruning contractors, lawmaker says

SITE Resource Group was specifically hired by Luma Energy to carry out tree pruning and removal tasks.

By THE STAR STAFF

Luma Energy, LLC has stopped compensating the companies it contracted to manage vegetation around electric transmission and distribution lines, House Government Committee Chairman Víctor Parés revealed on Sunday. Consequently, one of these firms, SITE Resource Group, has been forced to lay off its employees due to the lack of payment. Parés is contemplating calling both Luma Energy and SITE Resource Group to a public hearing to assess the status of the PDA program and its execution amid this troubling situation.

“Luma Energy, the private operator charged with managing and upgrading the electric transmission and distribution grid, is grappling with serious administrative challenges. Not only is it falling behind in applying for available federal funding, but it is also neglecting to pay the companies it has contracted for vital vegetation trimming services. This situation is disastrous,” Parés explained.

A letter from SITE Resource Group, dated October 3, notified its employees of their layoffs, effective immediately, alongside the termination of their health plan. The letter also requests that workers return all equipment and informs them that their final paycheck will be processed within the two-week period ending October 15.

In May 2022, Luma and SITE signed a contract (recorded with the Comptroller’s Office as number 2022-L00216) for a three-year agreement valued at $20 million annually, set to conclude in May 2025.

SITE Resource Group was specifically hired by Luma Energy to carry out tree pruning and removal tasks. Luma even issued several press releases announcing SITE’s hiring and outlining the projects they were tasked with managing.

“In September 2024, Luma announced that SITE Resource Group would be conducting pruning and clearing work along state highway PR-620 in Vega Alta, and similar notices were made in other cases. Unfortunately, due to Luma’s management failures, SITE employees find themselves out of work. This situation is unacceptable. While Luma withholds payments from its contractors, it continues to seek increases in its operating budget and raises in electricity rates; this cannot go on. They must settle their debts to contractors immediately,” stated the Representative for District #4 of San Juan.

Luma did not answer requests for comment.