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The mayor of Maunabo, Ángel Omar Lafuente, reported that LUMA Energy, the company in charge of the transmission and distribution system of the electric service, brought a mobile substation to his town, so he ordered the trucks that were blocking the transportation of the transformer to be moved to Santa Isabel.
“The arrival of the mobile substation in our town is undoubtedly another important part of the agreement and short-term work plan presented to us by Juan Saca and LUMA Energy last week. Now we can also comply and I have given instructions to do so,” he wrote on his Facebook account.
A week ago, the mayor objected to the company moving a transformer from its municipal substation to Santa Isabel, but the equipment there malfunctioned.
“I want to thank the entire army of Maunappa men and women who, over a week and a half, showed determination, bravery and courage to come together as a people, win the victory and write an important page in our history. We will continue to abide faithfully by everything that was agreed upon,” he added.
Work at LUMA Energy in Santa Isabel restarted today, the Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Board of Governors reported during its regular meeting.
During the secret meeting of the PREPA governing body, no details were given on what works will start today. However, the private operator of the transmission and distribution system has a press conference tomorrow in Santa Isabel on the topic of “Progress in the reconstruction of lines 100 and 200”. These are the redundant lines of the Santa Isabel, Como and Albonito systems.
LUMA Energy spokesperson Hugo Sorrentini told Metro that the reference at the council meeting must be related to the work on Line 100 and Line 200, which they will present in detail tomorrow. The company spokesperson explained that in addition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) projects on Line 100 and Line 200, LUMA is also working on repairing some sections of the route. This project will be covered by operating funds allocated to private operators.
Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is following up with a more comprehensive project. Last week, LUMA said in response to the Department of Energy’s inquiry that there is still no FEMA obligation funding for the replacement of Lines 100 and 200, and that the design of the project is 70% complete. “The detailed scope of work (SOW) was submitted to FEMA in August 2022. A revision of the detailed scope of work was submitted to FEMA in April 2024 and is currently under review,” the Department of Energy’s submission detailed.
Tomorrow’s meeting will be chaired by Engineer Hendzon Martínez, Superintendent of LUMA Transmission Lines, and Alejandro González, Director of the LUMA Lines, Central and Southern Division.
Sorrentini said that in addition to the works on lines 100 and 200, they have completed the disconnection of the first replacement transformer that did not work, while negotiations are still ongoing with the Maunabo municipality for the transfer of the second transformer. On the other hand, they installed a large transformer shipped from the United States last week in Bayamon, which is now operational in Bayamon.
Delayed power generation projects
On the other hand, Mr. Gerardo Lorán, a member of the board of directors of PREPA, said that they also met with Genera PR, the operator of the power generation part, to fully understand their work. As part of the report, he said that the peaking unit project has suffered delays.
Regarding the battery projects, the first three locations are reportedly set to go live in the second quarter of 2025. They will be Vega Baja, Cambalache and Costa Sur, with new installed capacity of 160 to 190 MW.
Regarding the peaking units, Genera is said to have learned that they should start construction in the first quarter of 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027.
Loren said the federal energy department has identified a working group to seek to shorten the time forecast. “The RFP should be submitted in September,” the lawyer explained.
LUMA closes auditor access
Meanwhile, the meeting discussed the auditors responsible for PREPA’s audited financial statements finding that access to the systems they needed to complete their work had been shut down.
“LUMA unilaterally modified the access rights of our auditors,” said Carlos Yamín Rivera, a lawyer at the Audit and Administrative Affairs Committee. It was explained that the request to restore access to the auditors of KPMG was submitted in writing last Friday. By the end of this year, the audited financial statements for 2023 are expected to be provided.
On the other hand, the reduction of PREPA liquidity was mentioned. Currently, PREPA accounts have $507,000 and are worth $900 million.
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