PDP senators: LUMA has yet to clear all power lines in peak hurricane season
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 57 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By The Star Staff
The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Senate delegation warned on Monday that, with the peak month of the hurricane season approaching, LUMA Energy is significantly lagging in clearing power lines. They also criticized the administration of Gov. Jenniffer González Colón for not adequately overseeing the situation, which they said poses a safety risk at a critical time for the island.
“On January 27, 2025, the PDP Senate delegation submit-ted a formal request for information, asking LUMA Energy to disclose the funds allocated to them by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for line clearance,” Minority Leader Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz said. “We also requested information regarding the allocated funds by region and mu-nicipality, the number of miles cleared, the remaining miles, and the work schedule for the coming months.”
Alternate Minority Leader Marially González Huertas noted that LUMA responded to the information request, indicating that as of February 2025, only 72 out of the 684 miles required for the San Juan Group A project had been cleared, leaving 612 miles still needing attention with federal funds.
“LUMA informed us that they had submitted 36 Detailed Scopes of Work (work routes), but only one had been approved, amounting to $18 million for that work,” the Ponce District senator said. “This project includes San Juan, Guaynabo, Trujillo Alto, Carolina, Canóvanas and Río Grande.”
Sen. José Luis Dalmau Santiago pointed out that “You, the press, will remember the information request made in January. Why is what we’ve uncovered so alarming? Because on Sep-tember 12, 2023, LUMA claimed they would clear 16,000 miles of power lines throughout Puerto Rico. Yet, by February 2025, a year and four months later, they had only cleared 72 miles of that total. Alarmingly, those 72 miles in Group A of San Juan cost a total of $12.9 million. Each mile of clearance cost $179,166.67, nearly $180,000 per mile.”
As of February 2025, LUMA Energy had four additional projects in progress, with the closest one scheduled to begin in April 2025 in Caguas. However, the former Senate president said, reports indicate that LUMA has only cleared 74 miles -- just two more miles than what they reported at the beginning of the year.
“The country cannot continue to bear the consequences of a company that, rather than working toward establishing a strong and sustainable electrical grid, shows negligence and a lack of action on critical issues, including the urgent need for vegetation clearing,” Dalmau stated. “Why is this issue important? In the same press release where LUMA promised to clear 16,000 miles of vegetation, they stated that vegetation is the leading cause of service interruptions in Puerto Rico and represents over 50% of the interruptions affecting customers on the island.”
González Huertas added, “We have information that Jenniffer González’s administration only issued a notification to LUMA at the beginning of the year, essentially requiring them to submit updated information to the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A) regarding the vegetation clearing process and the measures being taken given the impending hurricane season.”
“If LUMA Energy responded at all, we don’t know, and naturally, La Fortaleza should address that issue,” she said.
Sen. Josian Santiago Rivera said the PDP delegation has filed legislation calling for P3A Executive Director Josué Colón Ortiz, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Executive Director Mary Carmen Zapata Acosta and LUMA Energy President Juan Saca to appear before the Senate.
“We want to learn about the details of the vegetation clea-ring process throughout Puerto Rico, including a breakdown by region and municipality, as well as the procedures and steps taken by government entities to ensure that the consortium [LUMA Energy] provides a prompt and efficient response regarding vegetation clearing,” he said. “We demand that LUMA Energy be held accountable and that the government entities responsible for overseeing this consortium fulfill their obligations.”
Hernández Ortiz also announced an additional request for information whereby the P3A submits to the Senate all communications exchanged between the central government, through the P3A, and the LUMA Energy consortium related to the P3A notification dated July 22, 2025.