Restoration Coordinator of Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC), Daryl Dalrymple has announced that the new Trafalgar Power Station is expected to be available for generation during the second week in December.
He made the announcement during DOMLEC’s weekly progress update held recently.
A landslide occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning (November 7), causing damage to the company’s hydro pipeline in Trafalgar, taking off the entire new Trafalgar Plant. This incident resulted in several customers experiencing prolonged disruptions in their electricity supply. The company is now short of 1.7 megawatts and the 1.7 megawatts that was previously available is no longer available.
Dalrymple explained that the situation placed DOMLEC in a position where it couldn’t meet the demand on the system, “so we had to revert load shedding.”
“We are really looking at probably the second week in December for the new Trafalgar station to be available for generation again,” he said.
Furthermore, he indicated that the company is said to be using more diesel for the production of electricity, which means that it’s going to have an impact on the fuel surcharge, “so the longer we have those hydro units out the more fuel that we have to use in order to be able to provide customers with electricity.”
He went on to state that some inspection was done on that pipe sometime earlier this year and it was identified as work that has to be done.
“This event provided us with an opportunity otherwise we would have to take out the plant completely to get that work done,” Dalrymple stated. “It’s unfortunate that we had these circumstances, particularly those that affected the hydro, because once you have these units running it’s available all the time depending on the amount of water that we have, that will affect the output.”
He said DOMLEC is presently pursuing all the work that needs to be done on that section of the pipe in order to have the new Trafalgar station available in the quickest possible time.
In terms of the area where the pipe was damaged, he said it is challenging.
“It’s really a rugged place with a lot of huge boulders,” Dalrymple revealed.
He explained that there are certain sections of that pipeline, including the support for the pipes that got washed away and others that got damaged. Those that got damaged were repaired while those that were washed away had to be redone from scratch.
He mentioned that the foundation for the support has been done, all the steelwork has been completed and a contractor should be completing the footing and pouring the concrete, so by this week, the support for the pipe will be completed.
Dalrymple also said that some observations were made on another section which is causing some issues.
“That is one of the difficult areas to work on…,” he remarked. “And that’s where we call the clip space.”
He continued, “That work must be done and before we put water in that pipe again, we are going to undertake that work.”
That is additional work Dalrymple said has to be done and will further prolong the availability of the new Trafalgar Power Station.
If DoOMLEC were a private sector entity, Mr. Daryl Dalrymple would have been discarded long ago. But, with this imitation of a government, you are rewarded for incompetence and mediocrity.
Let’s be brutally truthful here. Which private corporation in Dominica or the world, would have retained this general manager for such glaring failures? Not one!
Roosevelt surrounds himself with the most incompetent people. Why? So none of them can show him up (out-perform him).
Hang in there Mr.D. This is a monstrous burden you have to carry. Even nature has added its share. Call on the authority of “impossibility”.
DOMLEC and DOWASCO two of the most dysfunctional and poorly managed statutory corporations worldwide.b these two should be held as perfect examples for other business entities as what not to be. In any other jurisdiction the management would have been summarily dismissed.
Dowasco? I think that’s brain fart on your part today.
“Daryl Dalrymple has announced that the new Trafalgar Power Station is expected to be available for generation during the second week in December.”
Well, since they say I know everything, this new Power Station, I’ve never heard about; and so boy Daryl, perhaps you need to inform me and the rest of the world, when and in what year was this new hydro electricity generating plant was built!
Now, or in your time when this was your function: Restoration Project Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and managing environmental restoration plans and projects. The position involves reaching out to landowners, developing projects to address watershed limiting factors, submitting applications to fund the work, submitting appropriate permits, managing the project(s), and conducting post-implementation monitoring. The Coordinator also collects and manages environmental data. creates maps, and communicate with the public.
An infant baby funds it hard to believe you!