Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) today advised that there were several outages across the island as a result of Tropical Storm Alex.
At 10:00 am this morning, there were approximately 1,000 customers without power across several parishes which was the peak number of outages. Power was quickly restored to customers and by midday approximately 180 customers were without power. By 4:30pm, power had been restored to all but 30 customers and crews will continue working until all customers are restored.
BELCO President Wayne Caines said: “First and foremost let me thank our dedicated BELCO crews who were out very early this morning when the first outage was reported and who diligently continued their work to restore power to all customers quickly and safely. Bermuda was fortunate that this storm was only a tropical storm and so damage to our infrastructure was minimal.”
BELCO’s Crisis Management Team convened before the storm and continued to meet to coordinate restoration efforts during and after the storm had passed.
Mr. Caines added: “This storm demonstrated once again that trees and foliage hitting power lines are the number one reason for power outages during tropical storms and hurricanes. These outages are entirely preventable and I strongly encourage property owners to trim their trees at a minimum of ten feet away from power lines to prevent outages. Meteorologists have predicted an active storm season so now is the time to carry out tree trimming to prevent damage to power lines and outages should we be impacted by a storm again this year. It is important to be safe while trimming your trees and property owners can call BELCO at 299-2800 or email treetrimming@belco.bm to schedule a power shutdown for tree trimming around wires. We ask that you arrange a power shut down three weeks in advance so that we have enough time to schedule a shutdown.”
BELCO customers can visit the BELCO website where there is helpful information on hurricane safety plans, tips and advice to keep their family and property safe.
Mr. Caines said: “I would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding as work was ongoing to restore power to customers following Tropical Storm Alex. We will continue to ensure we are well prepared for any more storms that may impact the island this year and I am thankful that there have been no injuries or major damage reported.”
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