Vegetation Safety and Reliability Initiative

Across Puerto Rico, vegetation is the leading cause of outages. To help keep power on and improve safety, LUMA is launching a new, FEMA-funded initiative to clear hazardous vegetation near powerlines over the next three years.

Up to 45%

outage reduction once complete

16K

miles of vegetation near powerlines cleared in the next three years

1.2B

in FEMA funding

0

cost to customer

Initiative Overview

Over the next three years, LUMA will clear hazardous vegetation from more than 16,000 miles of powerlines and critical infrastructure across Puerto Rico.

We’re prioritizing the strategic clearing of vegetation around powerlines and electric equipment that will have the greatest impact on reliability for customers, including rural areas outside of major cities.

This work is in addition to our daily efforts to clear hazardous vegetation from our electric infrastructure.

Expected Reliability Improvements

15% reduction in outage frequency after the first year

Up to 45% in outage frequency after the three year initiative is complete

See our expected progress by year:

Working with Our Customers and Communities

We are committed to working with our customers and communities to keep them informed of this important effort.
We will do all we can to notify customers in advance of work that may be required on their properties.
We will be partnering with municipal leaders to communicate and coordinate the work in advance and to minimize any impacts in their communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can customers expect?

Phase I: System Assessments

Vegetation specialists will begin surveying trees and vegetation near powerlines and most prone to cause outages. Our vegetation specialists will take pictures of vegetation, and may mark trees, including on private property, with tags or tape to identify vegetation that requires trimming or strategic clearing.

Phase II: Strategic Vegetation Clearing and Trimming

Vegetation crews will return to marked areas to perform strategic clearing or trimming of trees and other vegetation identified as a safety or reliability risk during assessments.

Phase III: Ongoing Daily Vegetation Maintenance

After the targeted clearing or trimming is complete, vegetation specialists will return to perform a post-assessment of the system, ensuring work was completed successfully. LUMA will continue to maintain the system through daily vegetation management work during and after the three-year initiative is complete.

What environmental protections are in place?

LUMA will follow all laws and regulations, including environmental laws, while keeping public safety and environmental protections in place at all times during this work. Before any work begins, vegetation specialists will carefully assess environmental conditions to ensure we’re only addressing vegetation that poses a threat to the reliability of the electric system.

How is LUMA working with communities?

LUMA is committed to working with customers and communities to keep them informed of this important effort. We will be partnering with Mayors to communicate and coordinate work in advance and minimize any impacts on their communities while doing all we can to also notify property owners in advance of work on their properties.

Who will be completing this work?

We expect that this work will create up to 1,400 jobs, bringing more resources to our daily efforts to improve service for our customers.

What will this initiative cost customers?

This FEMA-funded island-wide program will benefit every community across Puerto Rico. To be clear, customers will not have to pay for any work that is within the scope of this initiative.

How is LUMA handling the wood debris created by this work?

LUMA will utilize environmentally-friendly disposal methods, such as composting, and will follow all Puerto Rico and environmental laws when handling debris. We will also work directly with individual customers as needed regarding debris on or near their property.