Power company says it’s prepared for potential challenges this hurricane season

The Barbados Light & Power Company (BLPC) has reaffirmed its readiness to handle what is projected to be an active season, reinforced  by meticulous preparedness measures and fortified infrastructure.

Speaking at a media briefing held at the Hampton Substation in St Phillip on Thursday, Director of Operations and lead for the hurricane response team, Johann Greaves declared: “We are ready for whatever comes.”

“We recognise that it may be a more hectic period this year, because of the number of systems that are going to come down off the Atlantic, but we must not lose sight of the fact that it only takes one system that can really devastate the entire island. So, while there may be a high number, we have to treat it just like any other year, where just one system can actually do significant damage to us,” he added. “But we are ready.”

Greaves said the utility company had taken a proactive approach in gearing up for potential weather challenges. 

“We recognise that it’s likely to be, based on predictions, a more active season. What we would have done in response to that is that we would have started our preparations a lot earlier. All our major preparations were completed from as early as the beginning of May,” he said, noting that this has been the strategy for the past few seasons.

Another critical adjustment made by BLPC in recent years relates to supply chain management. 

Greaves elaborated: “In the last three years, supply chain issues have become a major issue. So, whereas before we would put in our hurricane orders from around March or so of the year, we now find ourselves maybe in October of the previous year placing orders to ensure that we can have all the necessary critical equipment on site when we come to the hurricane period.” 

He said the establishment of the Hampton Substation, BLPC’s latest indoor facility, demonstrated the company’s commitment to fortifying infrastructure against extreme weather conditions. 

In terms of operational strategy during hurricanes, Greaves outlined the approach to restoration efforts, stressing the importance of safety during emergencies. He said various sensitisation sessions were conducted leading up to the June 1-November 30 Atlantic hurricane season. 

“We share information in terms of how you can be prepared. As we come into the hurricane season then, at this point, we are basically ready to deal with any system that comes around this year,” he said. 

“The first thing is that after an event we assess the status of everything. We stay very focused on safety and . . . while we want to be able to restore power as quickly as possible, we want to do it as safely as possible for our employees and our customers as well and the general public.”

Beyond local response capabilities, BLPC is part
of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) network, facilitating regional cooperation during emergencies.

“They have a Caribbean Hurricane Assistance Programme. We have agreed to share resources and assist one another in the event that it is necessary. So, depending on the nature of the impact, we are able to use that programme to request assistance from our sister utilities throughout the Caribbean, and they will come out and assist us,” he said, noting that the power company’s team has been mobilised on several occasions to assist other locations in their restoration efforts.  “So, we not only have local response, we can pull on regional response as necessary.”

Further underscoring the company’s capacity to respond to emergencies, Greaves highlighted other partners as part of their response strategy, including shipping agencies that assist in bringing in emergency materials where necessary. 

shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb