Lowmans Bay resident says thieves stealing livestock during blackouts

A Lowmans Bay resident says frequent power outages in the area above the VINLEC power plant in the West Kingstown community are a major inconvenience, with thieves using the blackout to steal his livestock.

Casroy Crooke, 24, told iWitness on Sunday that frequent power outages have been a reality in the area all his life, with up to five outages in some months.

VINLEC issued an unrelated statement on Sunday about frequent power outages but identified communities mainly in Kingstown. 

However, Crooke told iWitness News that VINLEC had said previously that the electricity to the areas runs through Ottley Hall and Edinboro and does not come directly from the power plant.

Hence, any blackout affecting Edinboro and Ottley Hall will affect his community, Crooke said, citing his alleged conversation with VINLEC.

Crooke said that he and his father rear livestock and have to be on the alert whenever there is an outage because thieves use the opportunity to prey on their animals. 

“I live in Lowmans — 24 years old. And since I know myself, I know we always get outages,” he said, adding that VINLEC has not followed through on its promise to connect the community directly to the power plant.

He said he went to the power plant during an outage Saturday night and asked if there was anyone he could speak to.

The security guard told him no, but gave him a number for VINLEC Emergency.

However, the calls went unanswered, Crooke told iWitness News.

“I realised that the bayside had light and the Rose Place people,” Crooke said, referring to two communities that are also close to the power plant. 

He also called the Central Police Station but was given the same emergency contact for VINLEC.

“My father has livestock and I now bought a ram goat, looking to increase my livestock. People in the area, as they know the light [is] off, they’re using the opportunity to go and break in and steal,” Crooke told iWitness News.

“As [soon as] it blackout, I have to be on the move right through the night until morning comes. And then sometimes, people just stalking, watching, because I used to have pigs … and I could now turn my back someone gone with my pigs,” Crooke said. 

“It ain’t supposed to be that outages are affecting us because we are right at the power plant. The bayside has a direct connection to power plants so anything affecting Ottley Hall or Edinboro does not affect them and  where they relocated the Rose Place people.”

Crooke said that after Hurricane Beryl in July, VINLEC had said that the community directly above the power plant would be connected directly to the power plant.

He said the power outages since then suggest that this has not been done.

He said the situation persists although some residents of the areas have to live with the inconveniences, including vibrations, of a power plant being close to their homes.

“The majority of the time, when the place is empty, you can hear your window shaking, your door shaking. If an explosion were to happen, we could be vapourised in a split second. So all the inconvenience, the most they can do is to ensure we at least day good,” Crooke said.

He complained that the outages often take place on Sundays and holidays.

“The days when you really want to try and enjoy yourself because the other days you are working, that’s when the outages come,” he told iWitness News.

Meanwhile, VINLEC said on Sunday that it was engaged in remedial work to address a recurring fault affecting electricity supply to customers in several areas serviced by one of its distribution feeders.

“These areas include McKies Hill (including Spectacle Shoppe), Paul Over, Trigger Ridge and Upper Richmond Hill, Dorsetshire Hill and Queen’s Drive,” the company said.

It said that over the past month, customers in these communities have experienced multiple power outages, with three occurring between Saturday and Sunday. 

“Preliminary investigations indicated that high winds may have caused electrical lines to clash, resulting in faults along the feeder,” the company said.

It said that to address this, its teams installed fault indicators to assist in identifying the precise location of the issue. 

“This allowed teams to narrow down the problem area and carry out necessary corrective work this afternoon. All areas have since been restored,” VINLEC said.

“VINLEC understands the inconvenience these disruptions caused and sincerely apologises to all affected customers for the loss of power. We remain committed to ensuring a safe and consistent electricity service. Customers experiencing further issues or observe faults in their area are encouraged to contact VINLEC Emergency at 1(784) 456-1540.”