Disaster Preparedness

Hazards that may affect Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution include:
 
 Fires
 
 Floods
 
 Hurricanes
 
 Earthquakes
 
 Volcanic Eruptions
 
 Explosions
 
 Major engine failure
 
 Manmade hazards such as damage to transmission lines by vehicular accidents
 
 
Effect of disaster on VINLEC's operations
 
VINLEC has generating plants at several locations throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines as follows:
 
DIESEL Plants
 
 Mayreau
 
 Canouan
 
 Bequia
 
 Union Island
 
 Cane Hall
 
 Lowmans Bay
 
 
HYDROELECTRIC Plants
 
 South Rivers
 
 Cumberland
 
 Richmond
 
 
Multiplant operation has its benefits: It lowers the probability that any one disaster will render VINLEC incapable of generating any electricity at any one time. However, it is possible that one major disaster can have such far reaching effects that most of VINLEC's operations can be affected directly or indirectly. Therefore in the event of such a disaster the general public should be prepared for the length of time that electricity supply will be affected.
 
Hurricane Awareness Tips
 
 
Before the hurricane season begins:
 
 Notify VINLEC immediately about any trees that you suspect can fall on electricity lines close to your house.
 
 Notify VINLEC about any pole that you believe is in danger of falling due to erosion of soil at its base, loose stay (supporting wire), rotting or vandalism.
 
 Inform VINLEC immediately about any wire that appears loose or low-hanging.
 
 Ensure that you have battery powered radios to be informed of restoration efforts following loss of electricity.
 
 Ensure that you have sufficient canned food and dried food stored as a hurricane or tropical storm can result in prolonged outages which may result in your refrigerator/freezer being useless.
 
 Ensure that all galvanized structures are secure. Once loose and flying around, these can threaten both life and the transmission and distribution lines.
 
 Move all extension cables and transformers from the ground to a higher level.
 
During a Hurricane:
 
 Turn off your main breaker during the passage of a hurricane.
 
 Plug out all unnecessary appliances during the passage of a storm. There is a high possibility of lightning strikes during hurricanes and tropical storms and these can result in damaged appliances plugged into the main supply even if they are switched off.
 
 During the passage of a hurricane, VINLEC will continue to maintain power in its feeders allowing them to trip naturally due to line damage. Depending on the severity of the hurricane, VINLEC will issue a notice to the public stating that it is going to shut down all stations.