the consortium LUMA Energy refused this Monday to provide detailed information and a timeline regarding the preventive maintenance work carried out on the switchyard of the Costa Sur power plant in Guayanilla, and specifically on switch 0082, an industrial piece of equipment that exploded last Wednesday. at night, causing in turn a cascading interruption of the electricity service throughout the island.
“Providing the maintenance record of a switch would be something out of context, it would not show the complete picture, as part of that process we need all the files, the records, to have a better idea and provide it to people”answered Shay Bahramiradsenior vice president of Engineering and Asset Management, when questioned by The new day.
During a press conference, this outlet requested chronological evidence of the maintenance of the Costa Sur switchyard, but the information was not provided.
“As part of the process, we mobilize highly qualified personnel to secure the site and also to secure evidence. As part of the investigative process, regarding the maintenance of that switch 82, we have analyzed how best we can work that equipment, how that equipment might have contributed to this event, “he said, without addressing details regarding the maintenance of the equipment.
In general, Bahramirad indicated that the infrastructure of the switchyard consists of the period from 1969 to 1975, but did not answer the specific age date of the 0082 switch or whether the equipment had already completed its useful life.
Meanwhile, although there is already certainty regarding what happened in the switch, LUMA directors claimed they did not know the reason for the failure, an investigation that “would take several weeks,” said Bahramirad. “In the next two weeks we will collect the data and information. We will then be publishing a chronology of time regarding each stage.
For his part, the president of LUMA Energy, Wayne Stensby, stated that the impact of the blackout has caused “a decrease in reliability to date in the Costa Sur system”, which implies that the system is not operating at the same capacity as it did before the blackout. The work that we’re going to be doing in the next few weeks is going to restore that to the same way it was before the blackout,” he said. “We’re not going to give ourselves a score, our focus is to restore power to our customers,” he added.
Stensby said that on Sunday 99.7% of LUMA Energy’s clients already had their service restored and that, this morning, the consortium had returned to normal operations. “We will be completely transparent with our customers, regulators and the Legislature with what we find, to determine what actions can be taken to prevent an outage on this scale from happening once more,” he said.
In a public complaint on Sunday, the president of the Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers Union (Utier), Ángel Figueroa Jaramillo, pointed out that since LUMA assumed control of the distribution of electrical energy in June 2021, “no They have not carried out any Preventive Maintenance in any of the switchyards of Costa Sur and other power plants in the Electric System”.
According to Figueroa Jaramillo, this is a job that is carried out periodically on the switches and other equipment, in maximum periods of every two months, which consists of greasing, checking the compressor that opens and closes the switch, draining the accumulation of water or humidity and verification of other accessories.
“These protocols were delivered to LUMA as part of the transition before June 1, 2021 when they took over,” Indian.
The relationship between the adequate maintenance of the infrastructure of the switchyard that was the epicenter of the blackout, and what caused the failure, is also an important element in the process of claiming damages from consumers to LUMA, taking into account that The consortium has a liability release that is detrimental to the client, except in cases of gross negligence.
The executive director of the Independent Office for Consumer Protection of the Public Service Regulatory Board (OIPC), Hannia Rivera Díaz, said today that consumers have the right to claim for possible damages they may have suffered as a result of the interruption of electricity service reported since last week.
“It is very important that the consumer knows that, in case of having suffered any damage, he has the right to file a claim with LUMA,” Rivera Díaz stressed. But there is a long stretch from claim to compensation, since it must be shown that there was negligence in relation to the fault.
“Although it is true that there is a release of responsibility in favor of LUMA, this is not absolute. In cases involving gross negligence, willful misconduct (a legal term for malicious intent to deceive someone), or reckless conduct, the consumer is entitled to compensation for direct damages, including property damage. The investigation in this case has not concluded, therefore, it is incorrect to assert that consumers do not have the right to claim, ”he said in written expressions.
The main official of Regulatory Affairs of LUMA Energy, Mario Hurtado, acknowledged this Monday that consumers can initiate claims, but defended that the private entity is not obliged to cover the costs of household goods, food and other damages suffered by its clients due to the blackout. Wednesday’s overall.
“These effects are out of the control of the electricity company, normally we are not in a position to recover expenses from these damages. If customers want to file specific claims, they can do that. We are going to follow the guidelines of the Energy Bureau and we will follow the processes that they establish. […] Where there is a systemic emergency, like this case, there are typically no damage payments.” raised.
In addition to the issue of claims, an internal source told this medium that there is concern among employees regarding how the lack of maintenance or renewal of equipment can affect their safety in the midst of work.
On the other hand, the president of the House of Representatives, Rafael “Tatito” Hernández, the president of the Public Funds Oversight Commission, Ángel Fourquet, and the president of the Energy Affairs Commission, Luis Raúl Torres, announced that the legislative body made requirements to the executive director of the Electric Power Authority (PREPA), Josué Colón and the president of LUMA Energy, regarding the information and number of projects filed for improvements to the system charged to the allocation of $9.5 billion.
