Family islands likely to lose power

Wed, Aug 24th 2011, 12:50 PM

The Bahamas Electricity Company (BEC) plans to cut power on the Family Islands once squalls reach approximately 45 mph, and New Providence will have power for "as long as it possibly can" during the storm, according to Michael Moss, the chairman of BEC.
Meanwhile, the company is ensuring additional supplies are in place for the Family Islands in case the system is heavily damaged.
"The islands are our special focus because they will be impacted the fiercest," he said.
"This means making sure fuel and spare parts are at adequate levels and making deliveries that were scheduled for later in the week now. Our staff are focused on what they need to do."
With gusts expected to be more than 100 mph, Hurricane Irene, thought to be a Category 3 storm by the time it reaches The Bahamas, will almost certainly mean lights out for the islands.
"Whenever the winds get to a point where our transmission lines are at risk and crash together, we must shut the gird down," Moss added.
"We need to shut things down to protect people."

In terms of New Providence, he said underground transition lines mean there is greater hope the system can stay online throughout the storm.
But even if you have a power outage to report, nobody will be available at BEC, starting tomorrow at noon.
According to Moss, "non-essential staff will be sent home 12 hours before the landfall and business operations will cease at the time, including customer service".
Moss said, if the power does go out in Nassau, full efforts will be made to bring the system back online quickly. He believes the system is "robust", and despite recent problems with blackouts and faulty generators throughout the island, they are unrelated to the distribution lines.
"There will be some areas negatively impacted, no doubt, but I do not think there will be a total collapse in the system," he said.
 

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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