SKLEC dispels rumoured power outage
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT seems the Blackberry Messenger (BBM) bandits are at it again, and their most recent actions have resulted in the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKLEC) dispelling rumours of a planned power outage scheduled for this evening (Dec. 14).
BBM users, sometime earlier this afternoon, received forwards of a broadcast message purportedly drafted by the St. Kitts Electricity Company which informs that from 8:00 this evening the supply of electricity would be interrupted for a four-hour period.
It read, “The St. Kitts-Nevis Electricity Department Ltd. regrets to announce that the power will be out from 8pm tonight until 12am. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
Concerns were being expressed across the island, especially since two of the Federation’s popular bands, the Nu Vybes Band International and the Grandmasters Band, are scheduled to release their 2011/2012 albums concurrently at 10:00 p.m. on two different radio stations.
Both sets of fans and general band-lovers, it is expected, would experience some measure of disappointment if they missed the events they were looking forward to, because the electricity source necessary for it to be monitored is absent.
It seems, however, that the rumour is nothing more than that and, according to a “News alert” issued by Disseminateit.com on behalf of the SKLEC, no outages are scheduled for this evening.
“There is a false blackberry broadcast message in circulation, indicating that SKELEC has advised that electricity will be off between 8:00pm and midnight. This is a bogus and false message and is not an official message issued by SKELEC. There are no scheduled outages for this evening.”
This is not the first time that BBM users had attempted to mislead the public.
In October, BBM users forwarded a message which read, “Big accident in the country four bus turn over everybody dead. People is a car accident in Lodge claim four lives.”
This message proved to be a hoax, and two day earlier another circulated message stated that a certain bus driver was caught in a compromising position with a purportedly gay person. Minutes after its posting, another message was circulated, stating that another bus driver may have had relations with another purportedly gay person.
A final message in this war of allegations indicated that the previous messages were false. However, names were mentioned and this had definitely produced stigma.
