BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-OCTOBER has proved to be an unlucky month for electricity generation in St. Kitts, as it has once again been announced that the island will be entering a load shedding period due to engine repairs at the Needsmust Power Station.
The announcement was made via a press release sent from the Electricity Department yesterday (Oct. 4), which stated that engine KV12 #1 “developed a problem which resulted in the need for extensive maintenance which could last in excess of one month”.
Because of the “extensive maintenance”, the department stated that the island would once again have to return to a load shedding schedule. While the station will still be able to meet the 24.5 megawatt demand needed during peak demand hours, turning off the KV12 #1 would not leave the station with enough reserves if needed, thus making the brief periods of load shedding necessary.
The announcement was made just days after the one-year anniversary of a fire at the Needsmust Power Station that extensively damaged two Mirrlees MB 430-series generators.
Following the damage to the generators last year, St. Kitts was placed on a month long load shedding schedule.
According to yesterday’s release from the Electricity Department, the new load shedding schedule is expected to last around one month as well until “the process of installing and commissioning a new MAN 4.0MW Holeby engine”, which was brought into the Federation last week, can be completed.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the areas from Taylors Range to Bayfords and Palmetto Point to Gibbon Hill, Dieppe Bay will be without power from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Then from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. the areas of Canada Estate to Dieppe Bay and Bird Rock will be taken off of the grid.
In the afternoons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Buckley’s Estate to Palmetto Point and the northern section of Frigate Bay, including Half Moon Bay, will be without power. Then from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Malone Avenue to Buckley’s Estate and the southwestern portion of Frigate Bay, including Horizon Villa and Calypso Bay, will be without electricity.
The release further states that on Tuesdays and Thursdays some businesses with backup generators will be asked to run their engines from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Electricity Department indicated that the new load shedding schedule would be for shorter durations than the same period in 2008, as it “expects that no area will be without electricity for more than three hours at a time”.
A manufacturer’s representative who assessed two Caterpillar 3616 engines at the plant, which have been damaged for nearly a year, suggested that they also be “decommissioned and replaced” as the department works to bring stability to St. Kitts’ electricity supply.
It was also indicated that the electricity generation system is a “dynamic one”, and any changes to the load shedding schedule would be communicated to the public in a timely manner.
The department apologized to the public for any inconvenience that may be caused by the loss of power, and asked for patience as they carry out the necessary repairs and upgrades to the system.
