BAHAMAS: BPL Daily Fact Sheet

#Nassau, October 2, 2019 – Bahamas – We did not have to load shed during daylight hours today, and any load shedding that might occur tonight will be minimal. As we have reported previously, peak energy usage dips as the weather cools into winter, and the return to our fleet of some of the units that had been down for maintenance puts us in a position such that we appear to be past the worst of the load shedding.

DAILY UPDATES:

Today’s Load Shortage – -8.5 megawatts

Tomorrow’s Estimated Load Shortage – 30 megawatts

Today’s Projected Average Power Outage – 3 Hours

Tomorrow’s Estimated Average Power Outage – 3 hours

Average Power Outage (Last 24hrs): 3 Hours

Our current availability is 213.5 megawatts against an expected day peak of 200 megawatts and an expected evening peak of 205 megawatts.

CURRENT SITUATION & REMEDIATION STEPS:

UNIT 1:

At 5:10PM this evening (Tuesday) we started Unit 1 (23MW). The specialist called the initial start “satisfactory.” The next step in bringing the unit back to service is to dial in the speed settings, after which we can complete further rounds of testing and commissioning. Should all go well, this unit could be back online by the end of the week.

Timetable: We have had to reassess the timeline on this unit. We will update as work continues over the next 48 hours.

UNIT 2:

After having made engineering adjustments to Unit 2 (21MW), we have received the two reconditioned bearings. We expect to begin reinstalling them on Wednesday. Once the bearings are installed, we can diagnose and hopefully remedy the vibration fault so we can work towards bringing the unit back into service on full load. We will give a new timeline for this unit once the bearings are installed and we accurately assess the state of the machine.

Timetable: We can properly re-reassess the unit’s return to service once the parts are installed.

STATION A AT CLIFTON PIER

Yesterday, Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd. (BPL) hosted media outlets to get a firsthand view of the progress we are making to bring Station A at the Clifton Pier Power Station online. Some outlets have since reported that load-shedding will continue until December 15. This is inaccurate. Our intention is to eliminate the need for load shedding with the return of Unit 1 and Unit 2 to the power supply, as has been outlined in our Daily Fact Sheets. We expect at least one of these units to return to service very soon as we work to get the other unit back in service hopefully soon thereafter.

The target date of December 15 is when the seven new Wӓrtsilä engines are projected to be brought into service at Station A. The additional 130 megawatts of power they add to the grid will help to make load shedding a thing of the past for Bahamians.

Meanwhile, as we have reported, we continue our focused efforts on the two units at BHPS which together have a total output of 44 megawatts, which more than makes up the generation deficit we face during peak energy consumption hours. We are determined to bring these units back to service as quickly and safely as possible because it that generation deficit is what has led to the heavy load shedding.

OTHER BPL INFORMATION

Today we were able to report that all of South Abaco has been safely re-energized. We are now making preparations to move north, where the damage was more severe.

Release: BPL