Dominica: Fallen tree causes islandwide blackout

CMC – The Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC) has blamed weekend heavy rains for  the islandwide electricity blackout on Monday.

DOMLEC, the sole provider of electricity here, confirmed it had “experienced an island-wide power outage”  after a tree had fallen in an area where work had been ongoing on a damaged hydro pipeline in Laudat, a small village in the interior of the island, which serves as a critical source of power generation for the island.

“Just above us is what we have the new Trafalgar balance tanks and that tank collects water from the Laudat plant and also takes up water from the Tituo Gorge intake. All that water goes into the tank and goes into this pipeline that feeds the Trafalgar plants and which feeds other plants,” said DOMLEC’s  chief operating officer, Dave Stamp, in a Facebook live presentation.

Stamp estimated a loss of approximately five  megawatts of hydroelectric power due to the damage,” saying the pipeline, which carries a significant volume of water, suffered damage of around 36 to 40 inches.

“We want to thank our competent team which worked tirelessly to facilitate the repairs to the broken Hydro Pipe Line,” DOMLEC said, adding “we thank you our customers for your patience and understanding during the down time.

“We are pleased that all areas have been restored,” the company said, urging consumers who are still affected to contact it as soon as possible.

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