Press Release –

May 28, 2010

Over the past few days the Electricity Department, more specifically the Needsmust Power Station, has been experiencing a few problems that have further complicated the already tense load shedding situation.

On Wednesday night the KV 12 #1 engine tripped as a result of a failed pump on the cooling system at 23:45, which lead to the opening of the Bayfords, Canada, Industrial Site and Sandy Point feeders. As this was a period of low demand, additional generation was started up and the feeders all closed by 00:15.

On Thursday morning, the problem from the previous night reduced the stations capacity from 23.0MW to 20.0MW leading to an intensification of the load shedding for the day while repairs were being carried out on the KV 12 #1 engine. Apart from the regularly scheduled load shedding, additional areas which included that Cayon feeder from 06:30 to 12:30 and the Bayfords and Canada feeders from 12:30 to 14:20 and 14:24 respectively were affected. At the end of the work day yesterday, the station capacity was returned to 23.0MW when the work was successfully completed on the KV 12 #1.

During the night at about 23:30 the positive mood of the station was again dampened when the Holeby #2 engine had to be shut down after there was an abnormal reading on one of the cylinder heads. The engine was taken off without event and inspected to reveal damage to the cam assembly. It was not until the cam section was stripped today Friday 28th that the true extent was revealed as not being as serious as initially expected. The repair work to the Holeby should be completed by Friday June 4th of next week, as some of the part needed for the repair are not kept in stock and have to be ordered.

Friday was no better when there was an earth fault generated on the system due to the inclement weather. This cause the Holebys’ #3 and 4 to trip which resulted in a cascading effect that caused a near blackout at 08:45. The station however was able to recover in quick time as electricity was restored to most areas by 10:00. However the Cayon feeder remained off until 11:20 as emergency repairs were being carried out in the area. Also that Sandy Point feeder and a section of the Basseterre North feeder also remained off as maintenance work was being carried out in that area as well.

The situation as it now stands with 8MB 430, the Holeby #2 and the KV 12 #2 all down for repairs, the stations capacity has been further reduced to 19.5MW. This is a far cry from the 24.5MW demand during the daytime and the 22.5 during the night peak from 19:00 to 21:00.

We at the Electricity Department understand the discomfort, as we too are consumers. However, the department must maintain the position that in order to maximize the productivity of our resources, load shedding must continue until additional generation can be returned to service. As the situation has now evolved to being so volatile, please be aware that the electricity can go at any time.

We are working on a new load shedding schedule which will be released as soon as possible.

Management.

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