Vinlec officials explain weekend power outages

Officials of the St. Vincent Electricity Services (VINLEC) say that last weekend’s power outages were not expected to impact negatively on the company’s electricity output this week.{{more}}

Communications Officer of this country’s lone energy supplier, Tamara Job, on Tuesday told SEARCHLIGHT that despite appeals by the company to consumers to conserve power, VINLEC was still capable of operating at close to full capacity, should it become necessary.

Last Saturday, a number of intermittent outages disrupted power throughout the island. This was blamed on technical problems experienced throughout the day.

Then on Sunday, a fire on one of the company’s larger generators at the Cane Hall power plant knocked out power to 60 per cent of the country.

Job said that to date, the cause and cost of the damage had not yet been determined, and indicated that a team from the generator’s manufacturer was scheduled to visit to investigate the incident.

Although a number of the company’s generators had been out of commission over the weekend, Job stated that this was not the reason for the break in power transmission.

At the time, two generators at the Cumberland Hydro Plant were down, as well as one at the new Lowmans Bay facility.

According to Job, the Lowmans Bay engine and one at Cumberland were down for routine checks and have since been put back in commission.

She said that the appeal for power conservation on Monday was a precautionary measure, and other generators were on standby, in the event that there was an overdrive in consumption. A full report is expected to be made when the results of the investigation into Sunday’s fire are available. (JJ)