Lightning, Rain, and Strong Winds Blamed
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
July 06, 2009 (CUOPM)
Lightning, strong winds and heavy rains are being blamed for power outages experienced on Sunday.
Operations Engineer at the Needsmust Power Station, Mr. C. Jomo Williams said residents of Bayfords, Canada, Cayon and Sandy Point feeders were affected in the early morning hours of Sunday.
“This was followed by a lighting strike shortly after 12 noon that caused the system to become unstable resulting in the automatic protection for the Aggreko containers activating, causing them to shut down. This caused a cascading effect resulting in the loss of electricity island-wide,” said Williams.
He said that engineers and technicians carried out all the necessary checks on generators and equipment as well as field technicians carried out the necessary checks and reconfiguration of feeders before the system of reconfiguration began,” he added.
He said that the system of restoration began at 13:50 with the restoration of the electricity supply to areas supplied by the SSMC feeder and culminated in the restoration of the electricity supply to Frigate Bay at 18:24.
He said the Electricity Department deeply regrets the inconvenience that the interruption in supply of electricity has caused.