Overseas electric crews assist CUC

CUC linesmen were hard at work all week long in an
effort to restore power to the people

by Brian Buckley

Friday, September 24, 2004

Along West Bay Road on Tuesday 21 September power crews from several countries worked yet another 10-12 hour day in order to contribute to the return of power to Grand Cayman.

“This is the worst we’ve seen,” said Dave White, a lineman from Newfoundland, Canada. “We’ve worked on restoration projects in Belize and Jamaica over the years and this is the worst,” said Mr White.

A crew of 65 men from Canada arrived on Saturday 18 September at the request of the parent company of Caribbean Utilities Corporation (CUC), Fortis. Since then they have been working under every bit of daylight possible, while some crew members have worked into the night. The men from Canada represent Newfoundland, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Alberta.

Some crew members have also arrived from Belize, as the Fortis company also owns an electric company in Belize. The men are now staying in the Marriott in West Bay Road.

Ed Pennell, another lineman from Newfoundland Power, saw the breadth of the devastation to be the main obstacle. “In our restoration efforts in Jamaica and Belize the damage was in isolated areas. Here in Grand Cayman it is widespread, across the whole island,” Mr Pennell said.

Both Mr White and Mr Pennell bring knowledge and wisdom from their native Canada, where severe winter storms of snow and sleet often weigh on power lines, ultimately causing them to crush to the ground. The two men are used to having to dig into massive snowbanks in order to get to conductors.

In terms of estimates as to when the island of Grand Cayman would have power fully restored, Mr Pennell said that it would take three to four months for the whole island to have power restored, unless more assistance arrives to help these members of the Fortis family complete the task at hand.

On Tuesday, since they were working on West Bay Road, the crew predicted that by the following day power would be restored from the Esso on the corner of Eastern Avenue and West Bay Road up to the Marriott just before Pizza Hut. The men were working tirelessly to achieve this goal as this would allow them to perhaps have air conditioning at night in the Marriott.

The men said that since they have arrived the adrenaline has been running, making the work easier to accomplish. As Mr Pennell stated: “If this happened in Canada we would hope for an international humanitarian response. All we’re trying to do is what others would do for us.”

As Mr White and Mr Pennell walked back to their truck in front of the Treasure Island Resort, a woman heading east in a Pontiac sedan rolled down her window and yelled to the crew, “God bless you guys.”

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