Electricity supply should return to normal by end of June

Minister of Communications and Works the Honourable J. Alvin Christopher has pledged to eliminate the power outage problem in a few weeks and there is also a promise to launch an investigation into the management of the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation going back five years. He made the commitment as he presented a statement on the status of the BVI Electricity Corporation during the 10th Sitting of the 1st Session of the 14th Legislative Council of the Virgin Islands, on Tuesday June 6th. At the last meeting of Friday 31st March, the Member for the Eighth District asked the Minister what was the cause and for what period the territory would continue to experience the current spate of power outages. Minister Christopher indicated that the problem with the No. 3 and No. 4 generators was resolved and the No. 1 generator was expected to be back on line by the week beginning 9th April, thereby restoring the Pockwood Pond Power Plant to its full output strength.

"This being the case, it was expected that no further load shedding would have been necessary," he stated. However, since that date, the Corporation has experienced numerous additional problems, beginning with the transformer for Generator No. 1 at Pockwood Pond arriving without the coil section, making it impossible to meet the deadline for the elimination of load shedding. Hon. Christopher reported that the transformer for the No. 1 generator has been sent for repairs and should be returned by 11th June. He said the pump house is also experiencing a leaking header, generator No. 2 developed a stuck valve due to temperature problems on 21st May, which was corrected the same day and on 22nd May, the turbocharger turbine bearing failed on the same engine. On 20th March, Generator No. 3 experienced problems with the intermediate gear bushing, but this was corrected ten days later. On 10th April, the same engine developed a crack on the exhaust inlet casing, which was corrected by 16th April.

Turning to the Long Bush Power Station, the Minister of Communications and Works reported that Generator No. 9 continues to experience unstable air and oil pressure. On 17th May, Generator No. 10 suffered a damaged crankshaft. During the month of April, Generator No. 11 experienced a blocked water line on several occasions, but was quickly rectified. Also, there is the ongoing problem with the same generator suffering from a damaged radiator. "On 16th May, Generator No. 14 also suffered a damaged crankshaft, Generator No. 16 suffered a damaged turbocharger and exhaust system, which are attributed to the condition in which the generator was received," he continued. On 22nd May, there was an explosion on the spare Road Town feeder switch at the Long Bush Power Station busbar, which is a 30-year old bus system.

According to the Minister, due to the current problems, the BVI Electricity Corporation has fallen below its generating capacity at both stations. He said this has led to the numerous power outages that have plagued this territory in the last few months and apologized to residents for the inconveniences and losses they may have suffered.

"These are some difficult times that the Corporation is going through. We therefore ask for your support and cooperation during the coming weeks in which the Corporation will once again live up to its main goal and objective, which is to provide the best possible service to its customers and aid in the development of the territory's electrical infrastructure, by adequately supplying a reliable and continuous electrical supply to the entire Virgin Islands population at an affordable cost," he stated.

Mr. Christopher said the BVIEC has put in place short and long-term measures to ensure that these problems would be resolved once and for all. He said as part of the short-term plan, the Corporation will be renting three mobile generating units from RIMCO in Puerto Rico. These units will have an additional capacity of 4.8 megawatts, will be on island by this weekend, placed at the Corporation's compound at Long Bush and be installed by 14th June. "These units will remain on the island until the end of August. By that time, all the necessary maintenance and overhauls of the engines at Pockwood Pond and Long Bush should be completed. With these units in place and the No. 1 generator installed, the current load shedding that the country has been experiencing should be over by the ending of this month."

Last year, the Corporation began the work of replacing the current busbar and is in the final phase of installing a new bus system at the Long Bush Power Station. Workmen from England are now installing the new busbar, a project that, on completion, will enhance the reliability of the generation and distribution system. Phase III of the BVIEC's expansion programme is designed to meet the demand of the territory's projected growth, which consists of acquiring two 6.1 kilowatt generators to be installed at Pockwood Pond. Three 6.1 generators were shipped to the Virgin Islands 29th May, should arrive by the end of June, the first should be in operation by October and the second in December of this year.

"Mr. Speaker, once we can supply the territory's demand, there will be an overhaul of all our existing generators in a timely manner to restore our power stations to optimal working condition," Hon. Christopher announced. In addition, he expects to initiate a review of the entire management and operation of the Corporation, going back at least five years, "to ascertain the circumstances that have brought us to this unacceptable situation." He promised to table this report in the House as soon as it is completed.