San Pedro Gas Turbine successfully commissioned; damaged transformer delays usage

Published by BBNTEAM at September 12, 2024

Tags

Posted: Thursday, September 12, 2024. 2:28 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: The San Pedro Gas Turbine expected to augment power generation on Ambergris Caye faces still more issues as reported by Belize Electricity Limited (BEL).

In a notice, the company says a transformer connecting the turbine to the grid failed on September 7, two days after the turbine was successfully commissioned and load tested up to its rated capacity of 21 megawatts last week Thursday, September 5.

As BEL notes, the turbine should have been fully commissioned by June but a transformer failed during the process and the replacement was delayed due to Hurricane Beryl, delaying the arrival until the first week of August.

The transformers of which there are three were commissioned by August 16 and final commissioning was then scheduled before the latest failure.

BEL and the installation contractor are conducting a thorough assessment of this recent failure, and they are already procuring a short-term solution replacement transformer that they expect to install before the end of the year. In the meantime, we continue to monitor the power demand in San Pedro and will implement our contingency plan to protect the single submarine cable interconnection to the island if necessary.

BEL has consistently monitored and updated the situation on the island as part of an ongoing power crisis caused by expanding demand and occasionally limited support from Mexico.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.