LUMA: Summer 2024?

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There are undoubtedly sectors praying for a repeat of the events of the summer of 2019, when demonstrations, some peaceful, others violent, prompted the resignation of former governor Ricardo Rosselló. These demonstrations were not formally organized but were in some way called by public figures, such as Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, Rene Perez and others.

since Pedro Pierluis After taking office as governor, some people talked about summer 2021, summer 2022, summer 2023, and until a few days ago, due to the change in the energy situation, some people were talking about summer 2024. Last Tuesday to Thursday was the peak of the power outage, with nearly 350,000 customers losing power due to widespread power outages. Social media was filled with expressions of frustration, anger and excitement.

Taking advantage of the boiling point that seemed to have emerged in the middle of the week, two demonstrations against Luma were immediately held: one at its headquarters on Friday afternoon and the other in La Fortaleza on Saturday morning. The general demands of the demonstrations were more focused on the cancellation of private company contracts.

On a political level, both the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and the Citizens Victory Movement (MVC) joined the call and invited their troops to the demonstrations. On an artistic level, there was no expression of the call. The participation rate of both demonstrations was low, especially the one on Saturday. Maybe the panorama would have been different if the artists of the summer of 2019 had also joined, so that there would have been more people and the visuals would have been more impactful. I mean, it was not just that they were asked to go, but that they announced that they would attend. Their fans gathered at the protest just to see them. Obviously, the famous conversations of the time had a greater impact on these numbers than Puerto Ricans have today about the energy situation. In any case, almost none of these artists live on the island, and the places where they stayed for the night when they came were definitely places without electricity, even if Luma failed.

What happened in the summer of 2019, mainly the violence in Fortaleza Street, is something I think Puerto Ricans don’t want to see again or sponsor directly or indirectly. Maybe that’s why when these calls are announced by unclear groups or certain ideological sectors, they are viewed with suspicion and citizens raise their eyebrows to show doubt about whether to participate. I think there are also some who believe that the system was almost destroyed when it was delivered to LUMA, and there are still some who realize that no one will be able to update it in a few years.

“Let’s be realistic. Nothing can be done quickly. You can’t do in one or two years what you stopped doing for 15 years, but you have to start, that’s it. “Energy issues are not two years, three years, five years…”, said the former president of UTIER. Angel Figueroa Jaramilloat Jugando Pelota Dura on September 27, 2016. After the union leader made these remarks, the deteriorating energy system was subjected to sustained winds of over 150 mph and gusts of over 200 mph. In 2020, the area was also shaken by earthquakes. If for Jaramillo, he said the system was beyond repair in the two or three years before Hurricane Maria and the earthquakes, how can we demand that it be ready or operate in an acceptable manner today without anyone having to go without power for three years at a time?

In fact, on the day of the blackout, nearly 350,000 customers were without power, and in about 6 to 7 hours, that number was reduced to around 14,000. While the number of subscribers kept increasing, Figueroa Jaramillo published in “X” how many Puerto Ricans were without electricity. However, when the number of subscribers without power began to decrease as the service was restored, he stopped publishing. “By 9:55 pm, the number of subscribers without service increased to nearly 320,000”, was his last tweet on the subject. I don’t think he likes what is happening, but he is unconsciously aware that this will cause people to get on their knees and beg the system to return to PREPA and UTIER, but involuntarily, this is the forecast he sends, they love when these things happen. I mean, the worse it gets, the more they post on the web, but when the system starts to come back, they turn aside and start whistling. Because? Don’t you get excited when people are provided with service?

Regarding canceling the LUMA contract, it is not as easy as it sounds, suggesting that the energy system be returned to those who have left it in its worst state through lack of maintenance, to those who have damaged and destroyed it. Is this your bet? Is it possible for a future government to regulate well? I mean, if your answer is no, then is it possible that someone who cannot even supervise can fuel the entire energy system and provide you with the quality services we need?