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Electric outages #121538
02/21/2017 02:40 PM
02/21/2017 02:40 PM
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 60
SXM_Bound Offline OP
Traveler
SXM_Bound  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 60
There has been a lot of outages from GEBE lately. Is the French side power supplied by this company? I read the areas impacted today, and it doesn't look like any on the french side.

SXM Sponsors
Re: Electric outages [Re: SXM_Bound] #121539
02/21/2017 02:41 PM
02/21/2017 02:41 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,472
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
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Carol_Hill  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,472
Central Florida!
No, GEBE is only on the Dutch side.


Carol Hill
Re: Electric outages [Re: Carol_Hill] #121540
02/21/2017 04:47 PM
02/21/2017 04:47 PM
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 357
SeaStar Offline
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SeaStar  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 357
We mostly stay on the French side and about 2 years ago we had a few outages during the week we were there. Don't know if it is a regular occurrence.

Re: Electric outages [Re: SeaStar] #121541
02/21/2017 05:12 PM
02/21/2017 05:12 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 148
T
thebowl Offline
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thebowl  Offline
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T
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 148
I just got back from 8 days on the French side. There were no interruptions that I noticed.

Re: Electric outages [Re: thebowl] #121542
02/22/2017 12:41 AM
02/22/2017 12:41 AM
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 552
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
K
KGB Offline
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KGB  Offline
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K
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 552
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
We drove all the way from maho to grand case to see harmony nights for nothing today.... The was no power anywhere in the area....


"Often Wrong, Never in Doubt"
Re: Electric outages [Re: SXM_Bound] #121543
02/22/2017 06:25 AM
02/22/2017 06:25 AM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 769
Western MA
S
SandS Offline
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SandS  Offline
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S
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 769
Western MA
Our son & girlfriend took the boat from SBR to the Marigot Marina for dinner last night. They ate by candle light. The whole marina was dark.

Re: Electric outages [Re: SXM_Bound] #121544
02/22/2017 07:42 AM
02/22/2017 07:42 AM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 227
Allentown, N. J.
D
deirdre1 Offline
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deirdre1  Offline
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D
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 227
Allentown, N. J.
Last night the power was out for a few hours. Rumor has it that power was out for the entire French side from Marigot to Oyster Pond. We are in Oyster Pond on the French side of the island. Seems that power this trip has been off a lot but it generally doesn't last too long.

Bob

Re: Electric outages [Re: SandS] #121545
02/22/2017 07:47 AM
02/22/2017 07:47 AM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 208
Iowa
bbeach Offline
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bbeach  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 208
Iowa
I think the power was off all over the french side last nite, we went to harmony nights last nite also. The place we were sitting said it would be on by 6 but ended up taking some street bbq home and it came back on at 8 at orient village. We were told there was a fire somewhere around the electric plant. Rained alot yesterday morning but cleared by 11 so still a good day.

Re: Electric outages [Re: bbeach] #121546
02/28/2017 04:53 PM
02/28/2017 04:53 PM
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 64
J
johngret Offline
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johngret  Offline
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J
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 64
Each side has its own issues.

On the French side EDF the national french power supplier has megabucks to invest. There is a brand new generator and the operational staff are badly trained.
The average outage is about 30 min, sometimes a few hours when it is due to network failure. Power is subsidized by the government.

On the Dutch side a private company called GEBE supplies power. They lack cash to have enough insight. The whole infrastructure is ageing and crucial investments have been postponed for too long.
The average outage is 4 hours. Given the high cost of power there is growing dissatisfaction and authorities are being held accountable for the situation.
The good news is that they are now investing in solar.

Re: Electric outages [Re: johngret] #121547
02/28/2017 05:44 PM
02/28/2017 05:44 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,301
Upstate New York
Cheryl_Ted Offline
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Cheryl_Ted  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,301
Upstate New York
Unfortunately, nothing is going to help the infrastructure if they don't get someone in there that knows something about power supply and demand. Who cuts the power to the island at 7am for testing/upgrades with a sane mind? Hate to say it, but going solar isn't going to change things if they don't hire employees who know and understand what they are doing.

Re: Electric outages [Re: Cheryl_Ted] #121548
02/28/2017 06:59 PM
02/28/2017 06:59 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,628
Southern Maryland suburbs of D...
Bill_S Offline
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Bill_S  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,628
Southern Maryland suburbs of D...
One of the nice things about staying at Club Orient is that they are "off the grid" and generate all their own power with multiple generators on site.

This also allows them to provide BOTH 115-130 VAC and 230-260 VAC outlets in all their buildings.


Bill
Re: Electric outages [Re: Bill_S] #121549
02/28/2017 11:33 PM
02/28/2017 11:33 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,301
Upstate New York
Cheryl_Ted Offline
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Cheryl_Ted  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,301
Upstate New York
Lucky you! Just don't plug the toaster and hair dryer in at the same time!

Re: Electric outages [Re: Cheryl_Ted] #121550
02/28/2017 11:48 PM
02/28/2017 11:48 PM
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 638
F
foreversxm Offline
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foreversxm  Offline
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F
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 638
We have been going to SXM for apx 20 years and it seems electric outages have been more often in the past year or so. On the French side it seems to be rare to loose power but on the Dutch side it happens a lot. We normally stay at Mary's Boon in the Simpson Bay area which is a small hotel and it has a fairly new big generator which kicks in within a few sec which powers the entire hotel as do most of the bigger hotels so we really never notice any power issues. Also when the power goes off so can cable TV which even if the power is not effect in your area. Anyhow...just one of the things we take for granted in the USA that this small island in the middle of the ocean deals with. Small price to be in Paradise as far as I'm concerned! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Re: Electric outages [Re: foreversxm] #121551
03/01/2017 10:56 AM
03/01/2017 10:56 AM
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 185
J
jamiegarrett761 Offline
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jamiegarrett761  Offline
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J
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 185
We normally stay on the Dutch side - the past couple of years, GEBE has had some issues and, it appears, that a lot of hotels and restaurants have invested in generators. This is wonderful but we checked into Flamingo last month and the ONLY building that wasn't provided generator power was ours - the 7000 building. No biggie, though. We unpacked in the dark (only messed up a couple things)and walked down the hill to Topper's where there was generator power and all was well. I guess as long as you don't have medical issues that NEED power or food that can spoil, the power issues aren't too bad. That said, I don't think we ever had power outage issues on the French side in all the years we stayed there.....

Re: Electric outages [Re: Cheryl_Ted] #121552
03/01/2017 03:24 PM
03/01/2017 03:24 PM
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 64
J
johngret Offline
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johngret  Offline
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J
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 64
I agree, the issue is also the shortsighted government.

They should make solar heating for hot water compulsory on all new buildings. The should also subsidize AC refits that decrease power.

St Maarten Govt lack the big picture. Too much politics and not enough hard work...

Re: Electric outages [Re: johngret] #121553
03/03/2017 10:26 PM
03/03/2017 10:26 PM
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,111
St. Maarten/Long Island
SharonfromSXM Offline
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SharonfromSXM  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,111
St. Maarten/Long Island
Sorry but GEBE is not a private company but owned by the government (people) of the Dutch side which is why we all hold the government responsible.


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