Smart meter assessment launched in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico utility Luma has initiated an island-wide smart meter assessment as well as a vegetation clearing assessment

The planned deployment of 1.5 million smart meters is considered to represent a significant milestone in Luma’s efforts to enhance the reliability, efficiency and customer experience throughout the island’s electrical grid with their enablement of real-time monitoring, improved outage detection and enhanced energy management capabilities.

At the outset, initial assessments are being conducted across Puerto Rico to evaluate the infrastructure readiness and determine optimal deployment strategies for smart meter installations.

These assessments will encompass various factors, including infrastructure compatibility, meter locations and customer accessibility.

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“Our goal is to continue transforming the grid to deliver reliable and sustainable energy solutions to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Juan Saca, President and CEO at Luma.

“The introduction of smart meters marks a crucial step forward in achieving this goal, empowering our customers with actionable insights and greater control over their energy usage.”

Like the smart meter assessment, the vegetation clearing assessment is federally funded, with both firsts and forming part of Luma’s commitment to modernise Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure.

Vegetation growth near power lines represents over half of all service interruptions and poses a significant threat to the reliability of the electrical grid, particularly during adverse weather conditions.

The assessment is aimed to mitigate this risk with the initial phase focussed on identifying and protecting endemic trees and wildlife.

Thereafter vegetation clearance will be conducted in selected areas across the island.

In the release on the projects, it also was noted that the replacement of over 100,000 streetlights across more than 50 municipalities had been completed, marking a major milestone in the programme.

The first phase of the programme is intended to cover all 78 municipalities.

Later this year, phases 2 and 3 will be commenced to complete more complex repairs including pole replacements, third-party attachments, secondary and primary line replacements and underground improvements.