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Orocovis – The governor Pedro Pierluisi yesterday highlighted the importance of LUMA Energy reporting in real time the status of repairs to the electrical network following the passage of Hurricane Fiona.
Pierluisi made the expressions yesterday during a tour with the resident commissioner in Washington DC Jennifer Gonzalezand a group of congressmen visiting the island following the passage of Hurricane Fiona.
During the tour, both the Governor and González were approached regarding the repair work and were asked if they were satisfied with how LUMA Energy was communicating updates on the work to restore power to the public.
“It is important that they are informing the people in real time. They have obviously been dedicated to responding, thus far, and have provided whatever information they have made available. But now the important thing is that the number goes up. We know that in the south the network suffered a greater impact. We know that there will be pockets in Puerto Rico that it will take for the electricity service to return,” said the chief executive.
For her part, the resident commissioner believed that LUMA Energy failed to provide information that helps subscribers of the Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to know how the network is restored. “I have questioned that from day one. And that’s why I went on Friday. I went there (in the offices of LUMA Energy and PREPA) because I wanted to ask questions. And they gave me a lot of information that was not publicly available,” González said.
“I think there should be more communication and saying what is happening. I told it directly to the people of LUMA. As long as people don’t know what’s going on, we’re all going to despair,” she added.
This followingnoon, LUMA Energy and PREPA offered a press conference that lasted regarding three hours, in which spokespersons from both entities explained details regarding the service restoration work to the press.
“Here there is all kinds of information in the media. You yourselves have been reporting it. I think that, in general terms, the people have been well informed,” Pierluisi added to questions from El Nuevo Día.
At a time when 56% of the country has electricity, González and Pierluisi said they were not satisfied.
“What I want is for that number to continue to increase, the sooner the better. I am not going to be satisfied until the vast majority have service, electricity and water,” said the governor.
Tour of Orocovis
During the tour with the congressmen, González and Pierluisi saw PR-143 and PR-590, highways, which collapsed due to the heavy and continuous rains that Fiona brought. Pierluisi said that the Federal Highway Administration is involved in the repair of PR-143, which might cost $1.5 million.
The governor, it was reported, visited, in addition to Orocovis, Barranquitas and Ponce with the group of congressmen that included Val Demings (Florida).
“Our job, as committee members for Homeland Security (the federal agency to which FEMA is attached) is to protect the health, safety and well-being of the people we represent,” Demings said.
He added that they were on the island to assess how the reconstruction is going following Maria and, now, the response following Fiona.
Demings specified that they had questions regarding what were the challenges facing the island at the moment. For example, why the restoration of the electrical network was more difficult in the southern zone.
Demings recalled that five years ago, following Hurricane Maria hit, they came to the island and now they do the same to “make sure we are prepared for future storms.”
“Fiona was not Maria. There are some areas in which we have acted better, but we are also very interested in transparency, in the number of people with energy service”, said the congresswoman.
“56% is very encouraging, but we also have service restoration in Ponce, which is only 12%. Therefore, we want to know what are the challenges they face and why the restoration in Ponce is slower than in other areas”, Demings added.
Both Pierluisi and González indicated that the government’s focus at this time is on the response following Hurricane Fiona. When González was asked if she still understood that the contract with LUMA Energy should be terminated, she said: “Right now, I am focused on having electricity. On Friday we have a hearing in Congress and I think that there we will be able to learn a lot regarding why they work in a certain way, why only more than $300 million has not been claimed to use the $11.5 million”.
For its part, the press questioned the chief executive why the Department of Health did not implement the federal initiative emPower Program, which tries to save the elderly and vulnerable sick during large blackouts, Pierluisi rejected it.
“Yes, it is being used. Health is fully addressing this situation. They are going to be visiting, they already have an X-ray, of the residences where there are bedridden people, ”she said.
He ruled out the possibility that deaths will be recorded, due to the hurricane, and the government will not count them, a situation that was experienced following Maria when there were more than 3,000 deaths.
“Nope. We are having much greater transparency than at that time. Forensic Sciences is investigating, investigating. Health too. At the moment, there are 12… it might be said that up to 16 deaths are under evaluation,” added the governor.
“In due course, there will be plenty of time to evaluate the performance of all those who have had to do with this matter. But I have to say that when you look at the statistics and compare the amount of the population that has electricity right now, you compare it to the five most recent hurricanes, the difference is abysmal,” he said.
Regarding the energization of hospitals, the governor recalled that 75% already have electricity.
“The goal is everyone, but everyone has been attending. Critical facilities were given privacy. Those that do not by law and regulation must have generators. A generator and a backup generator. That is required by law, so those who have not had it, we are assisting them, but that is a responsibility that they had in law, ”he sentenced.
In addition, he announced that more than 200,000 Puerto Ricans have already requested help from the FEMA Individual Assistance program. 95% of applications were submitted through the FEMA application.
