“I’m fed up, we’re going to fight hard”: Mayor of Aguadilla activates brigades to build electrical infrastructure in his city

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Tired of waiting for LUMA Energy crews to move into his city, the mayor said Aguadilla, Julio Roldan ConcepcionWork began on Saturday to lift downed power lines after Hurricane Fiona passed through.

“We’re tired, we’re tired, we’re going to fight hard…begging for touching us is over,” he said.

With this move, Aguadilla became the second municipality on the island to escape criticism of the company responsible for energy transmission and distribution, joining Bayamon. to their places in affected communities.

As Aguadilla mayor explained, yesterday Friday, they started hiring former employees of the Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to help them in the process of energizing their city. Meanwhile, around 8:00 this Saturday morning, they went by helicopter to find possible damages on the primary and secondary power lines.

“They’re all in great shape. There’s no reason why Aguadilla isn’t fully operational,” he said, adding that only 30% of his city had power six days after Fiona passed.

He explained that a survey carried out by the communities affected by the typhoon has counted about 19 levels of rubble since this morning. He said there could be more, but they are still in the process of identifying them.

“We’re going to start lifting them today,” Roldan Concepcion said.

Repairs to the electrical system, as stated, will begin in the community of Esteves, located on the PR-459 highway.

They found fallen poles in the Villas Universitarias urbanization and in the Caimital Alto and Caimital Bajo neighborhoods.

“We’re doing a thorough account of what’s affected, and it’s going to be fixed, so that when everything is running, they’re excited at once and there’s no excuse,” the mayor said of his plans.

He stressed that contract workers will not interfere with direct taxes.

He also said a lawyer for the city council is negotiating with LUMA Energy to sign a memorandum of understanding similar to the one Bayamon will have with the company.

“We understand that it should be the same treatment as Bayamon, but I am going to climb the ranks anyway. My people come before Luma or any other people,” he said.

Likewise, Roldan Concepcion could not detail how much the work will cost the municipality. “We quote to buy things,” he explained.

However, he thanked San Sebastián Mayor Javier Jimenez for donating the first poles to be installed in Aguadilla.

“I have a town where there is no water and no light because of negligence. Currently, there is no excuse for not having 100% light. LUMA does not want to accept that they do not have the staff and are not ready for this. “Look at how Puerto Rico is, with a simple storm, completely shut down,” the mayor said, exasperating the situation.

Roldan Concepcion expressed “disappointment” that Aguadilla has not yet been included among the cities declared a major disaster. Such certification would allow Aguatilanos to access assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

On the other hand, Bayamon spokeswoman Migdalia Rivera reported that the installation of poles and cables in the La Peña community in the Guaraguao neighborhood has not yet begun. He indicated that municipal staff are “coordinating logistics” with LUMA Energy staff so that repair work on power lines can begin.