Record temperatures surge electricity demand; Nassau flops – Turks and Caicos ready

Providenciales, 30 Apr 2015 – Big concerns in Nassau as it prepares to host a cadre of major events this weekend including the IAAF/BTC World Relays… top of mind is whether or not utility companies can handle the load. The Bahamas Electricity Corporation/BEC on Monday suffered a catastrophic melt down; and island wide black out which forced the beleaguered power company to have to activate a load shedding plan, all too common in Nassau now. A so called engine failure could cause some problems for the World Relays set for the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium May 2-3; but BEC Chairman, Leslie Miller said before the Bahamas is embarrassed by a power failure at the relays, the residents at home will have to, and I quote, ‘sweat’. It was said that Atlantis Resort has already filed a $1.5 million dollar claim for black-out losses on Monday.

Magnetic Media contacted the Turks and Caicos power supplier in the wake of these challenges and the record high temperatures this Spring. FortisTCI Corporate Communications Manager, Talisha Simons told us theirs is a forward thinking company and despite the heavier demand in recent days, Fortis was long ready. “FortisTCI is handling the demand very well and we’re actually getting close to our peak from last year. So far this week we have reached a peak of 31.6MW with capacity to spare.” Simons agreed that demand can increase rapidly at any given time, but assured that FortisTCI has sufficient capacity and the new Wartsilia engine will be commissioned later this year. That new diesel engine, which arrived in country a few weeks ago, was purchased based on the country’s Strategic Policy and Planning forecast of a coming surge in population over the next three to five years.