Twelve Firefighters Extinguish Fire At BELCO
[Updated] At just past 11pm last night [Oct 25] the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire at BELCO, which they said they brought under control in 25 minutes.
Acting Deputy Chief Dana Lovell said, “At 11.14pm the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service received a call of heavy smoke in the area of a transformer switch gear located in the energy distribution area.
“The Fire Service responded in 4 minutes and saw heavy smoke and fire upon arrival.
“The Fire Service used a 1.5 inch hose to attack the fire without knowledge of whether the electrical lines were energized or not, which reduced the likelihood of significantly worse damage occurring.
“Using water and dry chemical powder, the fire was under control in 25 minutes,” continued Mr Lovell.
A total of three vehicles and 12 personnel attended, and the Fire Service understands that there are some areas of the City that have been affected by power outages.
“The Fire Service is still trying to determine the cause and BELCO is providing technical assistance to Fire Investigators,” Mr Lovell concluded.
Update 12.12pm: A BELCO spokesperson said, “At approximately 11:30pm, Friday, 25 October, a switch at the BELCO plant caught fire and the Fire Service was notified.
“The affected switch supplied power internally to BELCO buildings and equipment, and externally to several customers on Par-la-Ville Road.
“Just over an hour later, by 12:45am, Saturday, the fire was extinguished and service had been restored to customers. Work to repair damaged equipment has commenced. Investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.”
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Get ready for the hike in your electrical bill. BELCO has to order new parts & equipment.
Was thinking the same thing….One word in response, competition..
you think competition would work do you, i just returned from the UK, 5 major electricla supplierers over there have just raised thier rates from 8 to 10%…….so much for competition….at least Belco is regulated by the energy commession….they just cant raise their rates as they wish…..learn a bit about how the system works in Bermuda before you make a comment
was thinking the same thing
You all such idiots. Any reason to make stupid comments. Obviously none of you realize that the Belco cannot set nor adjust the energy or fuel rates themselves. The energy/price commission approves or rejects any and all price adjustments and Belco must have a valid reason for its approval.
@ Clear View: There’s no need for name calling. Back in the day the BELCO bill was nowhere as complicated as it is today.
What is a Facilities Charge? This just pop up on my billing 11 months ago… And if its to maintain the Facilities of BELCO, why the hell is it still burning down with no one on site to maintain their facilities?
Why should the consumer have to pay more because BELCO is experiencing a shortfall of income due to less people renting apartments?
@ Clear View: Another thing you don’t seem to get. If you’re receiving your bill online, why don’t BELCO charge paperless costumers .95 cents less per month for not using up their paper, stamps and envelopes? And thats less money for BELCO to pay someone to stuff those envelopes also. You must be a shareholder to be calling folks idiots…
Thank you to our brave firefighters!!! Keep up the great work!!
Ditto
Oh dear…here goes another raise in rates, it will be hidden with the other BS they thrust on us every month
This was the same time my lights did a major dip… North Shore, Pembroke
Thank you to all the Belco personal that got up in the early hours of the morning to ensure that the rest of the island had lights.
Another big shout out to the brave fire fighters that were on call to extinguish the blaze. Thank you to all.
Belco equipment is insured for such eventualities, it’s the fuel cost that effect electricity costs. But it is still one of the most EXPENSIVE electricity costs in the world.
I shout out to ALL the Belco persons that ensured that power was restored to the effected areas, and to the BFS who bravely extinguished the blaze!! Good Work!!
You want lower prices, ask government to lower its takes on diesel.
Maybe if BELO were not feeding their parent company with MILLIONS of dollars a year to buy unrelated companies (Air Care, IFM) etc. then we could see a reduction in our charges
ALSO, BELCO is overstaffed–and their employees receive an extremely high wage,benefits+pension packages—– reminiscent of the Civil Service! If SAGE/Govt can/will do something about that,why doesn’t the Price Commission do the same re BELCO?? People are going without electricity as BELCO employees-AND shareholders-are laughing all the way to the bank–thanks to the current Members of the Price Commission!!
The reason why the cost of electricity in Bermuda has skyrocket is because of the cost of fuel. Ask Government if they would lower the taxes on fuel? Would never happen. The higher the cost of fuel, the more money received by Govt. on taxes. Politicians complain, but I don’t hear them (OBA or PLP)having any solutions.