Electricity restored to parts of Union Island following Beryl’s battering

Several streetlights were turned on in Clifton, Union Island on Wednesday night, returning public street lighting after Hurricane Beryl left the island without electricity on July 1.

Union Island now joins Canouan and Mayreau, which were also severely impacted by the storm, in having part of its electricity grid restored and turned on.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves gave an update on the electricity situation on the islands on Wednesday as he spoke on NBC Radio.

He said that in Canouan, 100% of the high-voltage lines and 88% of the low-voltage lines had been installed.

“By the end of Friday, 100% of the low voltage lines would be installed.”

Gonsalves said the electrical Inspectorate had done 200 inspections and 150 certificates were received by VINLEC, which has connected 100 houses.

He said a number of the transformers was damaged, but on Canouan, there was existing transformer capacity sufficient to energise all the lines by Friday.

“However, new transformers will be added as they are received from overseas and as the load goes,” the prime minister said.

Meanwhile, in Mayreau, 100% of the high-voltage and 60% of the low-voltage lines had been installed.  All of the low-voltage lines were slated to be installed by Sunday.

“Currently, the clinic is powered, and all the line work will be completed,” the prime minister said, adding that the category 4 hurricane had blown down almost all of the electricity poles on Mayreau.

“All the line work will be completed and energised by Sunday coming, the 25th, for delivery of electricity to all those buildings fit to receive electricity.”

In Union Island, the high voltage line was completed along the Clifton Road to the seaport and up to the hospital and the FLOW cell site. Gonsalves said this would help with telecommunication.

As of Tuesday, the low-voltage line and 20 street lights from the power station to the seaport were installed.

The low-voltage lines to the hospital were slated to be completed and the high-voltage and low-voltage lines to the airport were scheduled to be completed by Sunday.

“So, you see the plan of VINLEC. The power plant, to particular areas, reaching as far as the hospital, to the FLOW site and the other direction to the airport.

“So that … any of the buildings inside that area which is fit to receive electricity will get,” the prime minister said, noting that a new 350KV containerised generator was commissioned because the storm destroyed the generators on Union Island.

He said it was fortuitous that the country had the generator “because they’re not easiest to pick up, like you pick up cornflakes from Greaves’ shelf”, referring to a local supermarket chain.

He said that on Tuesday, one large step-up transformer and an 11,000-volt switch gear were powered and the high-voltage lines were to be powered on Wednesday from that generator.

“So, some buildings that are ready to receive power in those places, which I just mentioned, in the Clifton era, would be able to receive power.”

He said the overall plan for Union Island is to make power available for the entire island by the end of the year.

Gonsalves said that the CEO of VINLEC had told him earlier that electricity could not be fully restored in Union Island “until a couple of months into the new year”.

The prime minister, however, said the company has been making remarkable progress.

“Work is ongoing on the transmission and distribution lines,” he said, adding that in addition to bad weather, the arrival of transformer capacity is a challenge.

“VINLEC is working assiduously with a number of vendors from overseas to address the transformer capacity. There’re some long lead times and we’re trying to see if we can shorten those lead times to apply those transformers.”

He said some Cuban engineers and linesmen were slated to arrive in the country to help with the repair work on the lines on Union Island.