Swetes substation source of island-wide outage

A burnt conductor at the Swetes substation caused an island-wide power outage lasting more than two hours, the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) has confirmed.
This substation’s transformer was rehabilitated two weeks ago by a joint-team of APUA and Colombian engineers. However, an APUA official said yesterday’s disruption is not related to the refurbished million-dollar transformer.
During a tour of the Swetes substation two weeks ago, Richard Joseph, substation maintenance and protection engineer, told OBSERVER media, that transformer upgrades would rectify longstanding difficulty with its major feeders and larger circuits.
Yesterday’s fault was investigated by a team of engineers who found the 69-kilovolt transmission line had suffered damage.
OBSERVER media received calls from customers, who rely upon the Swetes substation, that as of 7 p.m. no electricity had been restored. All Saints, Johnsons Point, Urlings, Liberta, Buckleys, Old Road and John Hughes were listed as some of the villages without electricity.
Sharifa George, APUA communications officer, said that at approximately 5:15 p.m. power was reconnected so that the entire grid could be re-energised, but she did not specify the time all communities would have electricity.
The island-wide outage affected commuters encountering non-functioning traffic lights causing unusual delays.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)