By Lesroy W. Williams Observer Reporter
” (Basseterre, St. Kitts)”At 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 2, St. Kitts was plunged into darkness as a result of the Needsmust Power Station catching on fire. This will cause scheduled interruptions of electrical service until further notice. It is still not clear what caused the fire. Minister of Public Works, the Hon. Earl Assim Martin, has promised a full and thorough investigation into the matter. “As Minister of Public Works, I have made it an absolute priority to get to the bottom of this development. I have requested that all of the facts be uncovered to me. My ministry issues sincere apologies for the inconveniences that the fire has caused,” Mr. Martin said at a press conference at Needsmust on the afternoon of Oct. 2. “Like everyone else in St. Kitts and Nevis, I was shocked to hear that there was a fire at the Needsmust Power Station,” he said. As a result of the fire, the power station lost its two largest engines, the Mirrlees 8MB 430 and the Mirrlees 12 MB 430, causing an island-wide blackout.” The St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services were contacted and arrived on-site at 03:49.” They were able to bring the situation under control at about 05:30. “Two staff members were treated at the J.N. France General Hospital for smoke inhalation and minor injuries and later discharged. “Due to the fire, the operating capacity at the Power Station was reduced to 15.9 megawatts, resulting in forced outages in certain areas of the island. General Manager of the St. Kitts Electricity Department, Mr. John Channer, said that there is no option but to engage in load shedding. Load shedding, normally used in industrial, large commercial, and utility operations, is monitoring electric usage continuously and shutting down certain pre-arranged electric loads or devices if a certain upper threshold of electric usage is approached. “We have no option but to engage in load shedding. Schedules would be released to the press on a periodic basis to advise customers as to the areas that would be out of power at what times,” Mr. Channer said. “Mr. Channer outlined a four point strategy of how the Electricity Department and the Government is going to deal with the situation. Firstly, final commissioning work on Caterpillar #1 Engine is soon to begin and should be completed by Monday October 6. The engineer who will work on that engine should have arrived at 2 pm in the Federation on October 2. Secondly, an attempt is currently being made to provide a temporary control mechanism to facilitate the return of the 8MB 430 engine. A worker was due to arrive in the Federation on October 2 to work on this engine. Thirdly, the Mirrlees 12MB 430 Engine is expected to be out of commission for some time. “We cannot say how long,” Mr. Channer said. Fourthly, he said that “due to circumstances regarding Mirrlees 12MB 430, the government is now exploring the possibility of getting standby generators by renting them.” Mr. Martin thanked the Electricity Department, the Police, the Fire Services and the Defense Force for their speedy action in restoring electricity to the country. He called on the general public to be patient at this time of load shedding.”” The government has announced it will be announcing the load shedding schedule on the radio. At press time, the government released the following: The Power Station lost approximately 14MW of Capacity due to a fire. The Department will therefore undertake a load shedding program until the situation normalizes. The following area will be affected on Oct. 3. 8am to 4pm ” Bird Rock ” Pond’s Pasture ” Taylor ‘s ” Shadwell ” College Housing ” Greenlands ” Lime Kiln ” Fortlands, ” Half Moon ” McKnight ” Conaree ” Canada Estate to Grant egg farm 4pm to 10pm ” Industrial Site ” Canada Industrial Site ” Selected institutions with generators 10pm to 8am ” Industrial Site ” Canada Industrial Site ” Selected institutions with generators ” Palmetto Point to Figtree
