Typical BVI Electric service

Today, at 10:30am - the power went out in Belmont
No problem - typical day
But, it stayed off - so I went for a walk

Well - a house needed a new hookup
Rather than getting everything at the house ready, then connecting to the existing power line - Nope... take down service to everyone - then start working on what the house may be needing before being hooked up

ok.. fine
But, they finished at 2:30pm
power didn't come back up until 4:45pm
I guess someone didn't want to report back to the office late in the afternoon - in case there were other emergencies to deal with

Imagine any senior, with no A/C - needlessly suffering because of this attitude... I feel for them

Oh..when I called - they said - The feeder had problems
Uh huh... BS - it is an existing pole, with a line dropped 30 meters to a new meter - absolute BS

I write this in the hope that there is some..ANY... supervision existing - and reading- at BVI Electric

Seriously? You're expecting BVIEC to be reading your complaint here?

Hey, there's always a hope
and, at the very least - a short bit of venting

I must be getting old.....

You live in the Caribbean and don't have a generator? LOL <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Find yourself a boat you like to sail and sleep on. Travel throughout the Caribbean and just about anywhere third world. At night position yourself comfortably where you can do you whatever it is you like to do and still see the island in the background. It will not take long to see whole sections of islands click into blackness as the powers that be God or Man take down the power sources. When the power goes out or when it comes back on. Note how the roosters and other animals react to the man imposed changes. Peter Island, The Ritz Carlton and the other high end resorts make the investments so they are not effected directly. If you must have your CNN or ESPN 24/7 I suggest the likes of the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons. At least when you complain they will pay someone to hear you whine and pretend like they care. They employ and army of people with the title Assistant Manager so smile and fill that purpose.

My occasional efforts to understand the BVI infrastructure makes me believe cost to install is considered way more important than cost to maintain. Is Belmont service underground or on poles? All the distribution pole transformers I have seen outside of Roadtown have been 200kva that can serve maybe 8 or 10 houses at most. They should all have a fused cutout to protect them from lightning strikes, overloads and suicidal squirls and make maintenance easier with minimum interuption. Any other place in the world you should be able to pull the cutout to isolate that transformer and shut power to just those few houses. Sounds like they have to shut down the entire high voltage side.

Not so much the issue of pulling down the entire hill to service one house - you get accustomed to that mentality.
It's pulling down the entire hill - then deciding if the house can be connected to begin with. - and realizing -oh.. wait a minute, this needs doing, and that...first.
Hilarious
But then - finishing the job mid-afternoon - and not calling in a completed job - ((sigh))

As for generator - technically - don't we need a permit to install and operate one at home here?
I don't think that rule is gone yet is it?

squirls? [SIC] <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

And in Belmont?

Of topic but keeping with the thought of the suicidal "squirls" <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> , on our last trip down to the villa on Jost the front master bedroom air conditioner was non operational. Tech came out and found a suicidal lizard on the motherboard of the unit. Proper installation of the units cover is critical! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

It wasn't just Belmont that was out yesterday. Our service was down as well in Romney Park and when I called, I was told the same thing. I tend to believe the explanation I was given versus a bunch of guys working on a single house in Belmont ... and deciding to call it quits early.

Although the electricity service itself cannot be considered anywhere near "reliable", the guys are generally pretty hard working. I have seen them out in my area working (on several occasions) well past midnight, in an effort to restore service.

And although you won't find any stray squirrels here, a technician once found a whole slew of tree boas (babies) curled up in a tangled mess [color:"red"]inside[/color] a transformer up the pole at the end of our driveway.

He killed them all. Poor little things. They are harmless to humans and help keep the mouse and rat population down. Sigh.

I was managing a beach bar when Lenny rolled through in '99. It was literally at the end of the electrical feed, but the power came back after the hurricane. But the wire had come off the pole closest to the bar, and was hanging about head height. I called BVIEC and reported the problem, but also told them to obviously put me lower on the list since I DID have current. After a few days the winds came up a little, and as the wire swung with the wind, the lights in the bar were blinking on-and-off occasionally, so I called BVIEC the next day and told them not to leave me on the bottom of the list.

The next day two workers showed up. One went up the pole and one worked on the box on the side of the bar. After a while the guy motioned me over and said, "wha' on de menu?" I kinda thought he was shaking me down, but chocked it up as a cost of doing business, so I said "hamburger, cheeseburger, fish sandwich, chicken sandwich", etc. He grinned and said, "no fry rat?" and opened up the gray box all the way so that I could see what was causing my problem - a large rat, seeking shelter from the storm, had electrocuted himself, and partially burnt the wires!

I did give the BVIEC guys lunch.

Rats are disgusting!! We just had a problem with our a/c here at the office. Turns out it was a fried SNAKE.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" />

"As for generator - technically - don't we need a permit to install and operate one at home here?
I don't think that rule is gone yet is it?"

We have to have a permit and have to repermit it annually on St Thomas, but it sure is nice when the lights go out all over.

No doubt... but, the concept of having to ask permission for something as simple as a generator?
Stateside? I never would have thought it...

I believe a generator can only be used for backup power. If the BVIEC chatches you using it when mains power I avalable they can charge you for whatever they think you should have been billed.

Even in the US if you install a backup generator that is perminently wired into your house system the power company or local elecrical inspector has to pass on the switch over mechanism. Same with solar. That is to prevent it backfeeding into the main when workers are maintaining the line.

So... the concept of feeding your surplus into the grid - and actually getting paid for it...is a foreign concept?

In the BVI, totally alien! BVIEC claims that it is because their people are not trained to work on live lines. In the case of solar panels that is totally bogus for several reasons. I believe it is actually to protect their investment in the distribution network and that line of generators at Pockwood Pond.

Investment Club
is what it is
was, what it once was
lol

Aside from the young guy who was electrocuted working on the lines on Virgin Gorda last year.

I never heard any details on that accident other than he had only been on the job for a couple of weeks. That would indicate to me there was very little training at all.

I'm a high voltage lineman. Been doing it for over 30 years. Any chance they'd give me a job ??

simply... Nope

In Wichita? Que the Glenn Campbell <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />