“The CUC electrical grid experienced an electrical fault caused by a fallen primary neutral line in Kiya 1,” Gary P. Camacho, said CUC power division manager and public information officer.
The primary neutral line caused the fault which triggered the step-up transformer relays to open the breakers at the Aggreko power plant which automatically shut down the engines, he said.
“This immediate loss of 15 megawatts of generation could not be sustained by Power Plant 1,” he said, adding that this also triggered the automatic shutdown of the engines.
The power went off at 12:30 noon and CUC said it was able to complete the restoration process at 2:30 p.m.
Camacho said the field crews and the power plant staff immediately initiated the power restoration process while the line crew isolated the field problem.
In an interview, Camacho urged members of the community to inform CUC about trees in their areas that might pose danger to power installations and lines.
CUC will continue its line clearing operations, but the public can also ask for assistance if there are trees that have to be trimmed to prevent them from protruding against electrical posts.
“We have specific crew assigned to immediately respond to this concern. It’s our priority to ensure the safety of the community and provide reliable power,” Camacho said.
