C.M Discusses Power Outage Problems

By Angela Burns-Piper

The government is well on the way to improving the supply of electricity, with the upgrading of equipment at the BVI Electricity Corporation, it was confirmed here Monday. Chief Minister the Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal addressed the issue in response to a question from The Island Sun during a press conference held in his conference room on Monday.

"These power outages we have been having Sir...What exactly is the problem and what does government plan to do to redress the situation?" he was asked. He responded: "I think they [Electricity Corporation] will continue for about four or five days because they had difficulty with one generator and they're working on it to get it working at full capacity again." Residents of Tortola have been plagued by frequent power outages for over two weeks now. The Electricity Department announced earlier this month that it was experiencing problems on the No. 4 generator set at the Pockwood Pond power station, as a result of which load shedding will be done on various feeders until further notice.

The Corporation also announced that the core for the transformer of the No. 1 generator set has been damaged and will be replaced in about 20 weeks time. "It is regretted that these outages have occurred," said Chief Minister O'Neal, "I know they are a source of inconvenience, but I do apologize to the public and hope that they will soon get the generator up and running at full capacity again." The Corporation noted that two used generators were installed in January 1999 at the Long Bush power station, in anticipation of the increased loading of the system. These generators will be used to meet any increased load while Phase III of the BVIEC's Development Programme is in progress. With both engines on line, the Corporation will have an addition 3MW of electrical energy. According to the BVI leader, another two generators are on order and construction has started at Pockwood Pond to house them. "So, the government is well ahead...in fact, I understand that once those two new generators are installed, the capacity will be more than what the consumption is right now," he told The Island Sun.