The containerised generators.
CAY BAY--The seven containerised 10MW engines that arrived in St Maarten mid-July are expected to be put into operation by August 13, Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina announced on Wednesday.
The putting of the generators into operation should bring an end to the load-shedding that has been taking a heavy toll on residents and businesses across the country in the past months.
The Prime Minister said he personally visited the GEBE plant on Wednesday to inspect the progress. He spoke to the project manager of SO Energy which is the company that the generators are being rented from and he received an update. Mercelina said the generators are new and have no running time. “They checked them all and they are all functional already. What we are waiting on are some fuel pipelines that are arriving [today, Thursday – Ed.] in a container by our harbour. Until now there is no contra-indication that they will not arrive [today],” stated Mercelina.
Seven fuel pumps that are needed to transport fuel to the engines are also expected to arrive today by air. “It will take approximately 4 to 5 days to install these fuel pipelines inclusive the fuel pumps and the intention is that for August 13, the plant will be functional,” he said.
Mercelina dismissed rumours that he said have been circulating about the containerised generators. “There are a lot of rumours about [the containerised generators – Ed.] not fitting the grid and that they have to be synchronised. That is normal. Every new generator that you add to the grid has to be synchronised. That’s nothing exceptional.
“There are rumours that they are there and nobody can do anything with them. I have not received that information this morning [Wednesday]. Actually, all generators have been tested already by running them and by adding diesel in their own tank to see if they function. So, energy will be there. Technicians from Caterpillar are also there because they are brand new. We are the first country that will make use of these new generators,” explained Mercelina.
The Prime Minister said he gets the impression that a lot is being expected from government and from him as Prime Minister.
“We have to realise that where we are today as a country is a consequence of insufficiency and no decision-making or bad decision-making that has our country today where it is and one of the effects of what has transpired in the past is of course what our nation is encountering now with the energy supply for the country,” he said.
“And everybody is looking now at this government, this Prime Minister that you have to solve, all of a sudden, a problem that has been caused in the past, because we are now 13 weeks in government, but now everything is imploding at this particular phase that this new government is in and we are not pointing fingers, we are assuming responsibility and we are trying to tackle all the problems that we are encountering.”
The mid- to long-term plans for GEBE are still on track. Mercelina said they are busy with the order of the purchase of 20 megawatt containerised generators for which a down payment has already been made.
