BELCO Updates Following Hurricane Earl
At the height of the storm, BELCO had approximately 1,500 customers without power and as of noon today [Sept 9], 129 customers remain without power, BELCO said today.
A spokesperson said, “Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited [BELCO] today provided an update on operations following the impact of Hurricane Earl.
“While there was no large-scale damage, tropical storm force winds did cause pockets of outages across the island. Most outages were due to trees and foliage falling on power lines. BELCO crews worked throughout the storm and late into the night to restore power to customers.
“The Bermuda Weather Service reported tropical storm force winds at most locations across the island with gusts up to 58 knots [67 mph] at an elevated location overnight.
“At the height of the storm, BELCO had approximately 1,500 customers without power. As of 12:00 pm, 129 customers remain without power in Devonshire, Pembroke, Warwick and Sandys parishes.
“Please note that as restoration efforts continue, customers may experience temporary outages as crews de-energise circuits to safely effect repairs. As a result, outage numbers will fluctuate throughout this process. BELCO crews will continue to work until power has been restored to all customers.”
BELCO President Wayne Caines said: “Bermuda was fortunate to have escaped the worst of Hurricane Earl as it passed by to our east. Thankfully we received minimal damage to our infrastructure and restoration efforts have been progressing well.
“I would like to thank the public for the patience and our dedicated crews as they work to restore power to all of our valued customers. The hurricane season is far from over and I would like to again ask property owners to ensure their trees are trimmed at a minimum of ten feet away from power lines to prevent outages.
“It is important to be safe while trimming your trees and property owners can call BELCO at 295-5111 to schedule a power shutdown for your tree trimming. However, we ask that such requests are arranged three weeks in advance so that there is ample time to schedule a requested outage.
“The public can also find hurricane safety tips and advice on the BELCO website to keep their family and property safe should we be impacted by another storm this season.”
