Author: ajt

A three (3) member team from SKELEC has been joined with a three (3) member team from NEVLEC to travel to Anguilla on Hurricane restoration work. While there, they would be working alongside other crews from Anguilla, Bahamas and St. Lucia.

Hurricane Maria began affecting the island on Monday September 18.

Most of our feeders remained intact and online during the passage of the storm. Some like the Canada feeder which services Conaree, Halfmoon and Canada Estate came offline, also Basseterre North Buckley’s to Trinity also is fully offline.

Our hurricane emergency crews began their routes to assess damage to the grid and its environs. Crews will then meet to discuss the restoration process. Once this is finalized details will be shared with the public.

Some customers are located in areas that may have electricity supply while their premises might be without supply. They are asked to call 600 (mobile) 465-2013 (landline) to report any issues.

The public is also asked to practice safety by not attempting to touch or remove any downed lines and please call SKELEC to report such.

Again, we ask for the patience of the public as we work to restore electricity supply to all affected customers.

There are a few areas that have experienced loss of electricity supply overnight.

As part of our protocols, we would not be restoring electricity supply to these areas without our technicians and engineers making the necessary checks.

Furthermore, our crews will NOT be going out into the storm to attempt any restoration until we have been given the All Clear by NEMA.

SKELEC encourages all to be safe and reminds persons to never attempt to touch or remove any downed lines.

The Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis is currently under Hurricane Warning. Accordingly, SKELEC would like to inform all our customers that due to the pending passage of Hurricane Maria, power will be kept on as long as it is safe to do so.

However, if conditions worsen during the hurricane, power will be cut for safety purposes. After the hurricane passes, the restoration process will begin when our technicians and engineers have completed all the necessary assessments and safety checks.

We are encouraging all our customers to exercise due caution during the passage of Hurricane Maria. Below are some of the precautionary measures we urge all customers to follow:

1. Unplug all electronics and appliances.

2. If running a generator please make sure that all safety checks are carried out and that the area has proper ventilation.

3. Treat all down lines as live and do not touch or attempt to move these lines.

a. Report all down lines to our Emergency Centre by dialing 600 from your cell phone or 465-2013 from landlines. The SKELEC app can also be used for this purpose, however while we will be monitoring social media this is not the best way to contact us as the transmission of these messages could be delayed.

4. If flooding occurs, turn off the main electricity breaker switch.

Customers are encouraged to download the SKELEC app for information on the Hurricane, safety bulletins and the restoration progress. The App can be found in Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store. It is of uttermost importance that customers listen to the official releases from NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) and adhere to their advice.

We ask God for protection over our country at this time and SKELEC urges all to please remain safe.

Caribbean Utility, working hand in hand

The Government of St. Kitts partnering with the Government of St. Lucia and CARILEC (Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation) facilitated the arrival of a small group of linesmen from LUCELEC (St. Lucia Electricity Company) to assist with the restoration of electricity supply on St. Kitts following the passage of Hurricane Irma.

The five-member crew arrived on island on Saturday afternoon and is expected to spend one week on St. Kitts working alongside our SKELEC crews. We are confident that their presence will help to accelerate the restoration process.

SKELEC takes the opportunity to thank the Government and people of St. Lucia for their kind assistance.

Yesterday our crews were able to restore power to the following areas:

• Camps to Half Way Tree
• Cedar Grove and Stapleton
• Upper Cayon and Ottley’s Village
• Lodge Project & Lodge Village

Service continue to be restored to individual consumers who did not have electricity despite power being restored to their area.

Customers in the above-mentioned areas who are still without electricity are asked to dial 600 from their mobile phones or 465-2013 from a landline. We are receiving a high volume of calls, so customers are asked to be patient and continue trying until they are able to speak with a dispatcher who will forward their information to a service technician.

Crews are currently working in but not limited to the following areas:

• Mattingley
• Molineux to Tabernacle
• Conaree and Half Moon

Further updates will be given in subsequent notices.

SKELEC would like to thank all our consumers for their continued patience and understanding during this time.

Restoration continued in the western end of island. Below are the new areas that have regained electricity:

• West Farm
• Boyd’s
• Trinity
• Challengers
• Old Road
• Verchilds
• Middle Island

Crews have been working in the afternoon and into this evening to restore electricity to the eastern side of the island.

They will also be working in Halfway Tree this evening in addition to Lodge and Mansion.

Our crews continued to work late into the night to restore electricity to the following areas that have been affected since the passage of Hurricane Irma:

• Parts of Half Moon
• Parts of Bird Rock
• Buckley’s
• Shadwell and surrounding areas
• St. Peters except Cedar Grove, Millikin and Fountain
• Spooners & Lower Cayon
• Camps to Ross University Veterinary School
• New Guinea to Newton Ground
• Supply was also restored to individual consumers who did not have electricity despite power being restored to their area

Customers in the above-mentioned areas who are still without electricity are asked to dial 600 on their mobile phones or 465-2013 on the landline. We are receiving an influx of calls, so customers are asked to be patient and continue trying until you are able to speak with a dispatcher who will forward your information to a service technician.

Crews are currently working but are not limited to the following areas:

• St. Peters
• Upper Cayon to Lodge Village
• Camps to Trinity
• Challengers to Godwin Ghaut
• St. Paul’s Upper

Further updates will be given in subsequent notices.

SKELEC would like to thank all our consumers for their continued patience and understanding during this time.

Our crews worked late into last night to restore electricity to some areas that have been out since the passage of Hurricane Irma. Below are a few areas restored:

• Lower St. Peter’s Parish
• Spooners & Lower Cayon
• Halfway Tree to western end of Newton Ground
• Parts of Half Moon
• Bird Rock
• Shadwell and surrounding areas
• Buckley’s

Customers in the above mentioned areas still without electricity are asked to call 600 on their mobile and 465-2013 on landline. We are receiving a large number of calls, so we are asking all customers to continue to try until they are able to speak to a dispatcher who will take their information to get a service technician out to rectify their issue.

Other areas our crews are working on are mentioned below but not limited to:

• Camps to Trinity
• Challengers to Godwin Ghaut
• Upper Cayon to Lodge
• Lodge Village to St. Paul’s
• Upper St. Peter’s

Further updates will be given at a later time in the day.

SKELEC thanks all for their understanding and patience during this time.

Initial assessment undertaken after the passage of Hurricane Irma, has revealed that while the country has been spared the full impact of the hurricane, a number of our electrical infrastructure has been damaged.

Our crews began restoration by midday Wednesday and at the end of the day power had been restored to Basseterre and its environs. We are however aware that there are individual consumers within this areathat are still without electricity, due to isolated incidences in their area.

The entire rural east, rural west and upper St. Peters are presently without electricity and our crews continue to work assiduously to restore power to these areas in a manner which is safe to all involved.

Residents should also be aware that as a precedence, when electricity is lost, priority is given to locations that can restore the largest numbers of consumers.

The general public is advised to treat all down lines as live. Do not touch or attempt to move these lines. To report a fault or any potentially dangerous situation, please call 465-2013 or 600 from cellphone.

Please remember that supply may be restored at any time so kindly take the necessary precautions to protect your appliances.

At SKELEC we do understand the inconvenience caused by the lack of electricity, and we take this opportunity to thank all our consumers for their patience during the restoration process post Hurricane Irma.

Management – SKELEC