South Rivers Power Station officially reopens today

THE SOUTH RIVERS Power Station will be officially reopened at a ceremony today, Friday, October 19.

The South Rivers Plant was the first hydro station that was built in St Vincent and commenced operations in 1952. It is one of nine plants owned and operated by St Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC).

Rehabilitation work commenced in 2016 and formed part of VINLEC’s Hydro Rehabilitation Project. The first phase of this project was the restoration of the Richmond Power Station. VINLEC’s Hydro Rehabilitation Project is one of the largest capital projects in the history of the Company and was completed at a cost of approximately $20 million.

Over the past two years work at the Plant has been ongoing. The wood stave pipes along the route were replaced by
Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP).

The pipes were buried along the route, as opposed to being installed above ground. A new 11kV switchgear room was constructed on the station compound and new 11kV switch gear equipment was installed. Additionally, a gantry (steel tower) was constructed to host the outgoing distribution lines for the 11kV feeders.

Repair work was also done on the balancing tank.

The commissioning phase of the South Rivers Plant started in July and was completed in August.

A team from VINLEC’s Engineering Division worked on the final phase of the project along with representatives from Gilkes, a UK based Company that specialises in hydropower projects.

The completion of the VINLEC Hydro Rehabilitation project has signaled a new era in the Company. Both Richmond and South Rivers Stations are now fully automated. This is being done using the SCADA Technology – that is Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. The Richmond Power Station is being monitored and controlled from the Cumberland Station, while the South Rivers Stations is being managed from the Cane Hall Power Station.

Friday’s ceremony will hear addresses from the Prime Minister and Minister of Energy – Dr Ralph E Gonsalves and Chairman of VINLEC’s Board of Directors René Baptiste.

VINLEC’s Chief Executive Officer, Thornley Myers and Manager Engineering, Dr Vaughn Lewis will also deliver remarks. It will take place at the Power Station compound from 3:00 pm.