St. Martin News Network

CAY BAY— On Tuesday the electricity production unit DG#12 at the Cay Bay Power Plant developed mechanical problems resulting in load shedding. Technicians noticed that the inlet air temperature on DG#12 was too high and the decision was taken to shutdown the generator before it could be damaged.
The shutdown resulted in the loss of 6 megawatts thereby forcing GEBE to load shed. The latter was impossible to escape due to the electricity production already at an all time high due to the high demand for electricity.
Most areas on the island experienced power outages lasting approximately two hours. By 5.00pm on Tuesday load shedding for the most was discontinued as the demand for electricity decreased due to the end of the business day, and the smaller generators were able to pick up the electricity load.
GEBE expects load shedding to continue on Wednesday as technicians continue to work on resolving the mechanical challenges on DG#12.
In the meantime, work continues on the two new 11.3 megawatt generators. The supplier has already performed the first tests which were successful and by the end of the week the technicians hope to have the generators running at 50 per cent capacity.
For a load shedding schedule, visit www.nvgebe.com.

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