Needsmust Power Station

Controlled electricity outages scheduled to begin on Monday, June 21, have been postponed. However, officials anticipate initiating the load shedding next week.

Needsmust Power Station Operations Manager Jomo Williams spoke exclusively with The Observer, informing that a delay in engine maintenance had led to the deferral.

“The scheduled overhaul of the Holaby #2 has been delayed by a week but we will know definitively by Saturday how we will proceed next week,” he said.

The engine maintenance was expected to last about four weeks, during which time island-wide load shedding would have been implemented.

Williams said it might not be necessary to take the engine offline, since the maintenance was already long overdue.

“We want to carry out a detailed inspection of the engine but at the same time we want to avoid having to initiate load shedding across the country. We do understand that it is frustrating not to have electricity at times so we will do everything in our power to avoid, or at least minimize, load shedding,” he said

Following major unplanned power outages about three weeks ago, the island’s electricity supply has been relatively consistent. The recent, widespread loss of power has not spelled bad news for everyone however, as most gas stations have reported a substantial increase in the sale of diesel fuel.

“More and more people have been purchasing generators over the past few years since we’ve been having these electricity problems; before, you had only businesses or the extremely wealthy owning back-up generators. As the problem grew, so did the number of generators and the demand for diesel has increased exponentially,” one gas company employee told The Observer.

The Operations Manager for a local fast-food restaurant spoke in confidence with this media house and said he felt the government should provide the business community with some form of concession, noting that the cost to local businesses to supply diesel for generators for hours each day might soon be reflected in the prices of goods.

“It takes a lot of diesel to fuel generators that pull air conditioning, lights, and equipment for hours, and diesel costs $12.50 per gallon. So, when you are looking at filling a 1000-gallon generator that lasts a few days to a week, you understand the kind of expense businesses are facing. You cannot ask a business to bear that kind of expense on a regular basis without any kind of relief,” he said.

In May, damage to the 8MB430 engine at the plant caused a six-week period of load shedding in St. Kitts, which in some areas caused consumers to be without electricity for up to 4.5 hours on weekdays.

Williams said if load shedding was, in fact, implemented next week the public would be advised of the schedule.