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As the weekend approached, the situation seemed to be taking a relatively positive turn. As evidence of this, on Saturday, October 24—barely four days after the forced shutdown of the G7 generating unit at EDF’s Public power plant—load shedding was significantly less frequent, and at times nonexistent. This improvement was due both to the arrival on the island of backup power generation units and, above all, to reduced electricity consumption by all residents, businesses, and shops on the island. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the week, EDF Archipel Guadeloupe has observed an increase in consumption. In a press release issued early Wednesday evening, October 28, EDF management expressed its concerns, citing “a high risk of load shedding” if consumption were not brought under control again in Saint Barth. “We’re walking a tightrope,” says Pierre-Yves Gillot, manager of the Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy sites for EDF Archipel Guadeloupe.
“We are currently at risk of an imbalance between supply and demand despite the installation of six generators,” adds the EDF press release. However, while a large number of backup generators have arrived since Saturday, October 24, their combined capacity falls far short of that of the two idled engines. In fact, the G8—currently undergoing maintenance—and the G7—which has been shut down and dismantled for repairs—alone produce 16 MW.
Nine Backup Generators Coming Soon
From the very start of the crisis on Tuesday, October 20, EDF management and the Collectivité’s departments have coordinated their efforts to find solutions as quickly as possible. EDF is responsible for identifying and transporting emergency power generators, while the Collectivité determines the sites where they will be installed. Since Saturday, October 24, six generators have arrived from Saint Martin and Guadeloupe. Pierre-Yves Gillot summarizes: “The largest one we’ve set up is 400 kVA. The substation it’s connected to (in Anse des Cayes) requires less power. So we’re sure it won’t trip the circuit breaker, so to speak. Of the six generators, the smallest is 80 kVA. ” Connected to substations based on their power output and production capacity, the backup generators have all been put into operation since their installation. Anse des Cayes (next to the Medical-Educational Institute), the Lédée housing development (behind the airport runway), Public—the sites where the generators have been installed are varied. Three more generators will be shipped in the coming days from Martinique and Guadeloupe. “They should arrive this Friday,” confirms Pierre-Yves Gillot. For a duration yet to be determined.
Additional Staff
In fact, according to the EDF official, the plan is for all the backup generators to remain in Saint-Barth until the estimated date when the two main generators at the Public power plant are back online—that is, in mid-November. “Once we’ve restarted the G8, we can assume we’ll be out of the crisis,” says Pierre-Yves Gillot. “However, we’re not ruling out keeping them here. We’ll see based on our needs.” The hardest part is getting them here. Now that they’re here, we can keep them for a while. But we mustn’t forget that they take up space and can cause disturbances. That’s not without its costs, either.”
In addition to the equipment, EDF has dispatched personnel to reinforce the local teams. Thus, six staff members from Saint Martin and Guadeloupe have joined the 33 plant employees and eight from the customer network office. In addition, EDF has asked the companies responsible for performing maintenance on the G7 and G8 units to send additional technicians. Eight are now expected to be on the island.
Yet Another Call for Restraint
“Everyone’s cooperation remains essential today to get through this period of strain,” insists EDF management. Efforts to conserve energy must continue, as they are essential to securing the island’s electricity supply and limiting the need for load shedding while we await the installation of additional equipment, which will be brought online by the end of the week.”
For the record, since the G7 and G8 units were shut down, the public power plant has been operating on its six aging engines—installed between 1988 and 1997, each with a maximum capacity of 3.1 MW—as well as on temporary generators provided by Aggreko.
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Hotels Going Off the Grid
Since the start of the crisis, the island’s hotels that have signed a load shedding contract with EDF Archipel Guadeloupe have been operating off the grid, using their own power sources. Seven hotels have load-shedding contracts with EDF: Airelles Le Guanahani, Le Cheval Blanc, Le Barthélemy, Eden Rock, Le Christopher, Fouquet’s, and Le Toiny.
A territorial decree restricting “non-essential uses of electricity”
On Friday, October 23, the president and candidate for the Territorial Collectivity, Xavier Lédeé, issued a decree establishing measures to restrict “non-essential uses of electricity.” Among other things, this entails turning off air conditioning in unoccupied spaces, banning the heating and cooling of swimming pools, and prohibiting interior lighting in unoccupied commercial premises as well as in storefronts and commercial signs outside of business hours..
