BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ELECTRICITY consumers are being told to prepare for a six-week period of load-shedding beginning today (May 12), said officials of the St. Kitts Electricity Department (SKED).
The move is meant to facilitate repairs on a damaged 8MB430 generator, which department representatives predicted could last in the region of six months. The load-shedding will occur during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Sandy Point feeder (Palmetto Point to Fig Tree) will be affected on Monday mornings, while the Frigate Bay feeder (Calypso Bay to Half Moon) and the Cayon feeder (Gibbons to Newton Ground) will be subject to closure in the afternoons.
These feeders will reverse positions on Fridays, with Frigate Bay and Cayon being shut down in the mornings and Sandy Point being vulnerable in the afternoons.
Businesses will be asked to use their generatorson Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Wednesdays will see the Cayon feeder (Canada Estate to Dieppe Bay) and Bayfords feeder (Taylors to Bayfords) be affected in the mornings and afternoons, respectively.
SKED Operations Engineer C. Jomo Williams said the damage to the 8MB430 was discovered after a failure caused the generator to trip on Monday evening (May 10).
Consequently, consumers on the Bayfords, Canada Estate, Industrial Site and Sandy Point feeders were left without power for almost an hour.
“Technicians worked to diagnose the problem and found the latching mechanism to be loose and caused the engine to trip. This morning the alternator [on the generator] was thoroughly checked and the windings found to be damaged, and in need of extensive repair work,” Williams revealed.
He noted that with work currently ongoing on various overhauls and engine repairs, the department was short of meeting its demand of 24.5 MW.
A formal system of load-shedding was last instituted in October 2009 due to engine repairs on a KV12 number one generator.
Prior to that, an October 2008 fire at the Needsmust Power Station extensively damaged two generators and precipitated a month-long load-shedding schedule.
Williams said the department “deeply regretted” any inconveniences caused by the power disruptions and asked for patience as it sought to conduct the necessary repairs.
