A temporary solution is being implemented to address the dislodged Trafalgar pipeline, which occurred on Friday morning, causing a reduction in electricity generation capacity at Trafalgar and Padu, officials of Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC), have said.
Kurt Savarin, Generation Manager at DOMLEC, says the company has contractors actively engaged in repair work at a heightened level, with expectations that these repairs will be completed by this week.
“That is a very high level timeline,” he said. “However that will be temporary work just to make sure that we have water in the pipeline, but it will be done in such a way that when we come to put in the permanent structures, we will not need to interrupt this supply again.”
This development comes amidst the ongoing challenges faced by residents and businesses due to frequent power outages, often referred to as “load shedding,” which have plagued the island for several months. DOMLEC attributes these issues to inadequate power generation capacity, an aging diesel generation fleet, and reliance on equipment that has served the company for 37 years.
Savarin highlighted the current state of affairs, stating, “with the company presently operating at approximately 50% of hydro capacity, the loss of Trafalgar and Padu reduces our hydro capacity to just over 11%.”
According to Savarin, two generation units recently went offline, complicating matters and necessitating collaboration with suppliers to expedite the timeline for their restoration.
“We are really working with the suppliers to try to tighten the timeline on some long lead items to see how quickly we can bring that unit back online, that is at Fond Cole,” he said.
The DOMLEC official added, ” then we had another one of our older units at Fond Cole, suffered some damage and it looks like from the preliminary assessment, it will take a lot of work to bring it back online. So what we are doing now is really trying to assess the extent of the damage; some of these things, some of the parts, are obsolete.”
In its ongoing efforts to tackle these unforeseen events that have been responsible for the unscheduled outages, DOMLEC recently sought and received external support from the a generation consultant from St. Lucia, and a technical team from Venezuela and according to Bertilia McKenzie, the company’s General Manager, their report and recommendations will be available by early this week.
She described the team’s assessment as comprehensive, saying, “It was a very good visit. They looked at every aspect of our our system, because initially, we thought that they were going to look at the generation system only, but they also looked at the transmission system. They looked at dispatch and all of that as well.”
McKenzie said DOMLEC engineers are actively working to ensure the safe connection of over two megawatts of identified generation units to the grid. She added that plans to rent two megawatts of generation are also near completion, the procurement of new generators is being arranged and promised to provide detailed information to the public by midweek.
The DOMLEC general manager apologized to the company’s customers for the loadshedding which is currently taking place on island.
“We understand the frustration of the customers,” she stated. ” We want to say to our customers that we are working diligently to reverse this current trend of affairs, to go and go back to the position to the time where they could depend on DOMLEC’s reliability. We want to get back to this sooner rather than later.”
My wish is for DNO to keep its eyes on Domlec and report to it’s readers any progress whatsoever that’s happening or not happening. All that’s required is site visits and a camera.
Talking to Domlec personnel should be avoided because they will only use this opportunity and forum to spin things and Broobroo the public.
no preventative maintenance. pipes laid and that was that. no inspections or upgrades. geez who is at the wheel!!!!
Hey, just put that on hold (we know you going to get some big bandage diesel engines), stop work expanding the existing airport, a hold on Int’l airport as we can still get in and out of Dominica, and, put all efforts into building that geothermal plant once and for all, I think you said it was 50% done,,, then you go back to building other things.
Waw. I wonder how this is affecting business at Papillote. you mean to tell me that the water is just flowing at this rate for days on end? With HOPES to have it fixed this week. we are so inept that we NEED to bring in a st lucian consultant and a team of venezuelans? Best all you put that country in a black plastic bag and put it by the roadside wi.
What more will it take for the people of Dominica to engage in civil disobedience to rid the country of this morally bankrupt administration of self-serving parasites.
When all the essential services in a country, such as, electricity/ energy, water, healthcare, agriculture & food production, critical social services are erratic, it’s time to get rid of the incumbent administration.
Dominicans political change does not come easy especially with an entrenched corrupt government in power. Personal sacrifices will have to be made to bring about a change. Use your feet and voices to get that change.
Cuba and Venezuela are very good with these temporary solutions, just tie plastic bags with rubber bands around it and put duck tape on it! This is how we do it in Cuba and Venezuela and it works, it really works! Welcome to the desperados club, Dominica!
i guess you’ve never ever been to Cuba. the image of what you think is Cuba is actually Dominica. Cuba is leaps and bounds ahead of us.
Ain’t you tired of sitting there and watch America, England and eEU bully/sanction other countries and races of people they don’t like? These sanctions have not proved socialism doesn’t work, matter of fact they have only proved that capitalism doesn’t work, just look at the level of poverty, suffering, low wage cheap labor inflicted in those countries on people of different color from the ruling race, ghettos, police killings etc. all without sanctions by those bullies, just because they can?
In today’s Dominica we have one horror story after the other. It took the despot and his puppet government only 20 years to bring our beautiful country to its knees. It’s time for the citizens rise and stop the wasteful bleeding of public resources and underinvestment in the most basic utility companies. In other words, Dominica can no longer afford this PM. It’s as simple as that.
“It took the despot and his puppet government only 20 years to bring our beautiful country to its knees.” And yet, today, Dominica is in a far better state than it was in 1999. Go figure!
If Skerrit had you beaten up by the Manicou Gang you would still find something positive to say about the Horrible PM. Good luck to you and your fellow Red ants.
The problems that Domlec is experiencing is forcing more customers to seek alternative energy sources. As a result there will be less customers and then to generate the projected revenue and profits Domlec will have to raise rates for customers on the grid. For customers who can’t afford to install solar power the pain will only get worse. How much can we take in the name of being the most resilient country in the world?
That claim and goal was ONLY for Skerrit to pocket international aid from donor agencies that provide funding for resilience. thats why after Maria he was quick to say no more single use plastic. He didnt even know how that would happen he just say his fing, them turn to the technical officers of the government to TRY and figure something out. All you not seeing them man only here for the money and for social status? You still not a bofa my brother. you not accepted in the real high society, doesnt matter how long you stay PM. Doesnt matter if you marry a poponne, you skerrit will not be accepted in them realms. regionally you are a clown, not only to the other leaders but to the citizenry. I cannot go nowhere in the region and call your name. otherwise is maypwi i getting from the common man.
“That claim and goal was ONLY for Skerrit to pocket international aid from donor agencies that provide funding for resilience.” You mean, you have evidence that corroborates this claim?
This ‘engineering feat’ looks as though it was done since prehistoric times. Examine it closely.
Lack of maintenance and gross incompetence by the current dictatorship have the country spiralling to ruins. The members of the Roosevelt led Cabinet are obsessed with self enriching and cheating to win elections. All other things including the well-being of the citizens and the various sectors of the economy are secondary.
The Dominican government lacks leadership. Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. Roosevelt possesses neither. Reasons for the lawlessness, underwhelming development, and the general state of malaise and hopelessness in the country.
Those pipelines were probably installed by the British in the mid 1950’s when they constructed the first hydroelectric power plant. The pipes look very old.
Case in point – Advanced America. Pipes lines go bust everyday and water gushing out on the streets of the cities and counties. The pipes are as old as you and Francisco are put together. Some get fixed permanently, others temporarily because the cities complain no money in their budget to fix the problem = budget shortfalls.
YOU are one lousy spin-doctor, people smell your BS from miles away. Better luck next time.