SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--Utilities company GEBE remains silent about the continued electricity outages plaguing the Dutch side of the island over the past days. Some residents have been experiencing as many as three or four outages on a daily basis.

The Daily Herald requested a comment from the company’s management about the outages, but no statement has been released since last week Monday, July 4, when it was stated that three engines that provide a total of 18 megawatts (MWs) of power were being repaired and/or overhauled.

This newspaper also contacted Prime Minister William Marlin for comment about the outages, as Government is the company’s shareholder. No comment had been received from Marlin up to press time.

Marlin had indicated to the press last week Wednesday that he intended to meet GEBE management to get an explanation about the outages. It is unclear whether that meeting has already taken place.

One worker, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, told this newspaper that engineers had been working since last week to repair the damaged engines. It was expected that one major engine would be online by Monday, but another component got damaged.

The worker said, “Engine number 17 overhaul was expected to be completed before the week was finished. Presently, engine number 12’s intake valve is damaged and is being repaired, and engine number 7, which was damaged by a fire, is awaiting parts that have a delivery time of about nine weeks.

“In addition, last week one of the largest engines that provides 11MWs of power experienced an electrical problem on three different occasions with different causes that resulted in load-shedding across the island. This engine is still down and is being worked on 24/7 to get it back operational.”

He also explained that one 8MW engine that is pending overhaul had been put back in operation for the time being to minimise load-shedding. The overhauls of the larger units were scheduled for later in the year, but due to the hurricane season the overhauls were put as a priority.

All working engines at the power plant are currently being operated to meet the daily demand, but should one engine develop any type of issue this may result in load-shedding, which has been the case during this past week.

The NV GEBE Facebook page is being used to inform the public and update on areas that are being affected by load-shedding when this is required. Residents continue to show their displeasure with GEBE’s service on social media.

   The company continues to maintain its silence about the issues facing the restoration of full power to the Dutch side, but this newspaper’s source continues to stress that engineers continue to do their best to restore the out-of-service engines.