BPL DAILY FACT SHEET AUGUST 24 2019

BPL DAILY FACT SHEET AUGUST 24 2019

As Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd. (BPL) continues the work to address the serious load shedding and grid strain issues that have disrupted the daily lives of many of our customers in New Providence, we are making steady progress.

Progress towards closing the 40- megawatt deficit we face during peak energy consumption has picked up momentum thanks to the efforts of our team of local and international partners who have been working around the clock.

Two units in particular are the focus of our efforts, due to the fact that when combined these two units – once they are up and running – can provide the needed power to make up the deficit. We remain hopeful we will be able to bring at least one of the two units online ahead of schedule. We were also able to deal with the problems that arose on the unit at Clifton Pier which had to be taken down on Thursday night.

As per the past week, we will continue to update the public on our efforts each day. We would like to remind our public that with the return of the sunshine, the day and evening peaks have risen once again, which means we will be working extra hard to maintain the relief we have enjoyed from widespread load shedding over the past few days.

Below is the current status of the daily shortfalls and the state of repairs on the aging units:

DAILY UPDATES:Today’s Load Shortage

32.5 megawatts

Today’s Projected Average Power Outage

3 Hours

Average Power Outage (Last 24Hrs)

1 Hour 30 Minutes.

Tomorrow’s Estimated Load Shortage

30 megawatts

Tomorrow’s Estimated Average Power Outage

3 hours

Our current availability is 187.5 megawatts against an expected day peak of 215 megawatts and an expected evening peak of 220 megawatts.

CURRENT SITUATION & REMEDIATION STEPS: We continue to work on two units at the Blue Hills Power Station (BHPS), representing 44 megawatts of unavailable power.

While some testing was successful on the diesel unit driving the 23-megawatt 1st Unit at BHPS last night, minor mechanical problems were discovered and those issues were being addressed throughout the day, and the unit is expected to be tested again Saturday afternoon. Success in those tests will clear the way to bring the unit on load within days.

BHPS 1st UNIT: estimated 7 to 10 days for system repair from last weekUPDATES: Commissioning continues and final testing is underway now.ARS: August 30th (possible completion earlier)

The team has worked diligently to return the 21-megawatt 2nd Unit at BHPS to service, and overnight that work continued. Following yesterday’s successful “rub tests,” oil spray testing was completed and assembly of final components and installation of other accessories continued throughout the day. Final electrical installation is forecast for completion tomorrow with a view to completing testing tomorrow by midday.

BHPS 2nd UNIT: anticipated up to 21 days for system repair from last weekUPDATES: Unit prepared for final testing in the next 24 hours.
ARS: September 6th (potential to be completed earlier)

The CPPS unit that developed problems was taken down Thursday night for emergency repairs. Those repairs were completed over the course of a day and night, and the machine was tested and returned to service at 11:31 Saturday morning.

CPPS UNIT: anticipated up to 48-72 hours for system servicing
UPDATES: Repairs completed successfully and unit returned to service on load.ARS: Unit returned to service August 24.