Ongoing power cuts more than an irritation to Gibraltar business and residents

FOR years the people of Gibraltar had been serviced by a rapidly deteriorating and old generating station, so when the new Power Station was officially opened on September 12 last year, they thought that outages and black outs would be a thing of the past.

So irritated are so many consumers and business about the number of power cuts that the Gibraltar Electricity Authority has had to issue a statement to explain what is going on and the reasons for the continued outages.

It says that since going online, there have been a number of necessary tests carried out in order to ensure that the power station is able to offer a safe and efficient service and having completed these tests, they are now checking control and automation systems.

Because of the particular conditions they operate in with no connection to any other countries’ electrical network, these tests must be carried out on the live grid which will increase the chances of power outages occurring.

These tests have to take place during the day, because that is the time of highest power demand although some tests are also taking place at night when demand is lower

Having explained the reasons for the ongoing problems, the Electricity Authority has perhaps ‘rubbed salt into the wound’ by saying; 

“The commissioning phase is critical when looking to taking over a new Power Station, and therefore we would like to take the opportunity to thank our customers for their continued support despite recent power cuts during this period of testing” when of course locals have no control over what is happening.