BELCO On Standby, Preparing For Worst
BELCO says if Hurricane Igor hits the Island as forecast, they expects there will be extensive damage to the electricity distribution system. The company says they are preparing for the worst, and have positioned equipment at both ends of the Island with crews standing by. They will try to respond to emergencies, such as pole fires or downed live lines, but for obvious reasons will not endanger BELCO crews during a hurricane.
BELCO has sent out a very concise list of ten things “What BELCO Expects from the Storm & What You Can Expect from BELCO.” It follows below:
1. If Hurricane Igor hits the Island as forecast, BELCO expects there will be extensive damage to the electricity distribution system. We are preparing for the worst, and have positioned equipment at both ends of the Island with crews standing by.
2. Before the storm arrives, BELCO urges customers who depend on life support or who have serious medical conditions to make arrangements to ensure they have the care they need. Restoring power to these customers after the hurricane is a priority, but we can do nothing for them during the hurricane, as we cannot dispatch crews during a hurricane.
3. We urge everyone who uses a generator to do so safely, according to manufacturer’s instructions for personal safety and the safety of our crews working on live lines. Go to belco.bm for generator safety tips.
4. As the storm builds on Sunday, BELCO will stop sending out crews when the winds reach consistent storm force, which will be about the same time that the Causeway is closed. Sending out crews during a hurricane is unsafe. We will try to respond to emergencies, such as pole fires or downed live lines, but we will not endanger our own crews during a hurricane.
5. We request that customers wait until after the hurricane has passed to phone 955 to report outages.
6. Despite a myth that comes up with every major storm event – BELCO does NOT shut down engines and turn off power during a storm. We work to keep power flowing to our customers at all times. However, during hurricanes, faults on the distribution lines may result in engines tripping, which in turn may cause load shed.
7. On Monday, after the hurricane, BELCO will send out damage assessment teams to the East, West and Central Parishes. A full restoration plan will be developed from their reports. Damage assessment may take 24 hours or more. The restoration process could take days and in some cases even longer. It all depends on the severity of Hurricane Igor.
8. BELCO works in an organized process to restore power. We restore power to critical customers first, such as people on life support, and to essential services, such as the hospital and airport. Our other priority is restoring power for security of supply, which means restoring power to our substations. After that, we start work to restore power to mainline circuits, so that we can get the maximum number of customers on at one time. Then we work down to branch lines and finally small groups of customers and individual customers.
9. We do not know how long the restoration process will take, but when the storm ends and we have information about damage, and can then put together a restoration plan, we will keep the public informed through the media, our website belco.bm, Facebook and Twitter.
10. BELCO takes great pride in getting the lights back on as efficiently and as quickly as possible, and we appreciate the public’s support and cooperation, as we work through what may be a very demanding restoration process.
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