I am a long (17 years) retired employee of St Vincent Electricity Services.
I commenced my employment with VINLEC on Jan. 2, 1973, and saw the development of electricity in the Southern Grenadines, particularly on Union Island, a project with which I was closely associated.
When Hurricane Beryl impacted Union Island on July 1, 2024, it was just two months short of the 50th anniversary of the electrification of the island.
I am unable to say if VINLEC had any plans was to celebrate the milestone.
The project was an initiative of the then-junta government of 1972-1974, led by the then-premier, JF Mitchel.
I can recall quite distinctly that it was Mitchel who, under the guidance of a then young Grenadian engineer, Ricky Pursoo, and I, started the generators and turned on the switches to start operations on Sept. 4, 1974.
Basil R Williams
Sion Hill
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