Empowering Puerto Rico

In 2017, in a period of only two weeks, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was hit with two category 5 hurricanes that wiped out 100% of its power grid. Six weeks later, power had been restored only to 30% of the population. Puerto Rico needed to find a way not only to rebuild its electrical system in the short term, but also find a long-term solution that would ensure their grid could survive hardships in the future.

Enter LUMA Energy, a joint venture between Canadian utility ATCO and U.S.-based Quanta Services, that had the vision for an electrical grid that could support Puerto Ricans far into the future. After a rigorous 18-month bidding process, the venture was awarded the historic 15-year contract to own and operate the Puerto Rican transmission and distribution system.

Part of winning the bid was the emphasis placed on education and the continual training that would be paramount to the successful maintenance and operations of the newly proposed grid. Together, ATCO and Quanta Services, which had acquired Northwest Lineman College, the leader in power delivery training with more than 25 years’ experience in the United States and abroad, were well positioned to design and implement a new campus in Puerto Rico.

This new campus, LUMA College for Technical Training (LCTT), would be the island’s very first accredited and Department of Labor–registered school to to focus specifically on the development and continuing education of a utility worker. The creation of LUMA College, for both LUMA Energy and their employees, will be the key to transforming the island’s grid into a resilient and reliable system to support the people of Puerto Rico.

However, like any new venture, the process hasn’t been easy. Building a new college and working to completely transform a new electrical system through privatization was unprecedented. Initially, many employees from PREPA (Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority), the previous T&D administration, were worried about their jobs, union resistance, retirements, and other issues. Add to those worries the complications of securing construction permitting and understanding governmental affairs, and the task felt daunting.

These hurdles, though, only encouraged Puerto Ricans and joint-venture employees to work even harder to see LUMA College come to fruition. With our minds always set on doing what’s best for the student, we are proud to say that since commencement on June 1, 2021, LUMA College for Technical Training has trained and evaluated more than 800 people using curriculum from Northwest Lineman College. All of the trainees have received employment or credentialing opportunities, or both.

On July 26, 2021, LUMA College started the island’s very first Utility Lineworker Program with the inaugural class consisting of 16 geographically diverse students from every corner of the island.

One of the best parts of having the opportunity to train Puerto Ricans is their willingness to push through red tape and union polarization in order to receive training and education. As of August 2021, LCTT has made significant strides in attaining the necessary construction permits. Our team is hopeful we will complete our campus in the city of Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, and begin educating even more students in our own building by the first quarter of 2022.

In the first year of LUMA College, our training will focus on those who have been in the trade for several years but require “upskilling” or refresher training to get back to the journey-level status, something that has been impossible on the island due to not having a Department of Labor–registered program. Then, beginning in 2022, the focus will be on driving LUMA Energy’s apprenticeship program, which focuses on the next generation of employees who will manage and maintain the new grid system. In addition to apprenticeship, there will be several advanced trainings ranging from Aviation Human Extraction Cargo (HEC) to EPZ Grounding and Bonding. These initiatives could result in hundreds if not thousands of employees being trained year to year, something that has not happened in decades on the island.

As campus director, I’ve had the privilege of discussing with each student their career aspirations and how each can be the best apprentice after they graduate from our program. Our mission—for LUMA College to provide industry-leading educational experiences for companies and individuals tasked with rebuilding Puerto Rico’s electric power infrastructure—inspires me to ensure that we are operating at the highest level and are doing whatever it takes to help transform our students, employees, and, ultimately, the island. For that, I am deeply honored to be a part of such a wonderful consortium of ATCO, Quanta Services, and Northwest Lineman College to bring world-class training opportunities to Puerto Ricans.