BL&P’s Managing Director gives update on power outage

Following an island wide power outage which took place yesterday afternoon, crews from the Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd. were working up into the night, to restore full power to the large number of customers affected.

Roger Blackman, Managing Director of the Barbados Light & Power Company (BL&P) held a conference call with members of the media around 7:30 p.m. to give an update on the situation. He also sought to assure Barbadians who likely would have been without power well into the night, that steps were actively being taken, to rectify the problem.

“At about 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, there was an explosion at our Seawell substation in Christ Church, which would have resulted in the loss of power across the island. We responded immediately by sending crews to the scene and the Fire Service also responded immediately and assisted us with containing the fire at the substation,” Blackman indicated.

“We are happy to report that there were no injuries, but there was damage to our equipment. At this time, we are still investigating the extent of the damage. We don’t have a full report on how extensive it is and will only be able to determine that, after we have completed the investigation,” he added.

Up until the time Blackman spoke with members of the media, power had been restored to two thirds of the island, and the BL&P was working assiduously to restore power to the remaining third.

“Because of the nature of the fault and the location of it, unlike previous occasions, the length of time to fully restore service is a little longer, but as we speak, we have teams and crews in the field working at this time and at the location, to do what is necessary to complete full restoration,” the Managing Director stated.

“So at this point in time, our initial assessment is that those customers that remain off will continue to be without electricity for a few more hours, but we anticipate having full restoration during the course of the night,” Blackman assured.

BL&P customers are being advised to stay tuned to the various updates given by the company via its Facebook page, as well those issued via the local media also. (RSM)