Power company assures it’s prepared for Tropical Storm Tammy

By Marlon Madden

As residents prepare for the effects of Tropical Storm Tammy, the Barbados Light & Power Company (BLPC) is giving the assurance that its teams are ready and on standby if electricity service is affected.

On its projected path, the storm is expected to pass approximately 120 miles north of Barbados by Friday afternoon, but heavy winds and rains are expected to start affecting the island in the wee hours of the morning.

During a press conference on Thursday evening, BLPC officials reported that they were ready for the eventualities associated with the storm.

Managing Director of the BLPC Roger Blackman said he expected the heavy winds and rains associated with the system to “pose some challenges for the grid”.

However, “I want to assure everyone that the company is fully prepared and we have taken all the necessary precautions to mitigate the potential impacts of the storm.”

“I just want to assure everyone that our hurricane preparedness systems are in place. In fact, we started planning very early before the hurricane season started, and then throughout the hurricane season we have regular meetings to make sure we are following all the procedures and everything is in place.”

He said in addition to team meetings, the company has put protective measures in place to secure infrastructure, and team members were on standby and ready for a prompt response as needed.

Noting that the safety of staff and customers was top of mind for management at the utility company, Blackman said, “As we prepare for the storm, I want to assure everyone that we will respond as soon as it is safe to do so.”

BLPC officials said they were working closely with the telecommunications providers to see how best they could identify priority areas so restoration could be done in a more timely manner when poles have to be replaced.

“It hasn’t moved as quickly as we had hoped but we are working closely with them to address it,” said Blackman, who acknowledged that one of the major challenges for the BLPC in restoring customers’ electricity was having to wait for telecommunications providers whenever a pole had to be replaced.

Director of Operations Johann Greaves told reporters that he did not expect the company would have to shut down the national grid, as he explained that it usually would take a Category 3 hurricane for that to happen.

Stressing that safety should be paramount for everyone, Greaves advised residents to be patient and stay away from any downed power lines and utility poles and to report such incidents to the BLPC hotline at 626-9000 or its social media accounts.

He reiterated that with the sheer number of photovoltaic (PV) systems connected to the national grid, it could take some time to get the system fully restored should there be an islandwide blackout, due to the instability that comes with the PV systems.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb