Puerto Rico is rich in both beauty and history, but this tropical location can experience damaging storms resulting in blackouts, and in the last two decades tropical storms have devastated the island. 2017 brought the worst storms Puerto Rico has seen, as it felt the full wrath of Hurricane Irma and Maria leaving millions of Puerto Ricans without power for weeks, and with some still without to this day.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has decided it was finally time for a change, and in June of 2021 LUMA Energy replaced the 80-year old Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, as the island’s power company, responsible for power distribution, power transmission, and most importantly modernizing the entire grid.
LUMA was given a 15-year timeline to complete the monumental task of supplying the island with reliable power.
Naturally, they called on the most qualified electrical workers on the planet for help – The IBEW. Florida’s IBEW Local 222 has partnered with LUMA to work alongside the local linemen and women, and to train them on becoming top-qualified journeymen linemen.
This long arduous undertaking has just begun, but the future of Puerto Rican power is in good hands.
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