KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
More than a year after the February 16, 2022, islandwide blackout that caused traffic chaos, financial losses and panic across Trinidad, Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales switched on T&TEC’s new $72 million 220 kV transmission line at the Union Industrial Estate, La Brea, yesterday.
He said the new line lessens the likelihood of a widespread blackout as the Union/Gandhi 220 kV circuit will transfer electricity from Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) to T&TEC’s substation in Gandhi Village, Debe, which will distribute to the rest of the country. It will serve as a secondary backup to take electricity from the country’s largest electricity-generating company, so if there is a fault on the grid there is now another transmission line to power the island.
Gonzales said when Government laid the report of the Cabinet-appointed expert committee that investigated the blackout in Parliament many scoffed and questioned T&TEC’s ability to provide a reliable electricity supply. He said the report suggested no electricity grid in the world has insulation from a total blackout.
One recommendation was to build resilience into the system. However, the Public Sector Investment Programme included this project before the blackout as T&TEC had already indicated the need for a new installation as it could not maintain the ten-year-old line. Maintenance involved shutting down power to many parts of the country as it was the only line transmitting power from TGU which provides approximately 50 per cent of Trinidad’s electricity needs during daylight and 60 per cent at night.
T&TEC Chairman Romney Thomas said the older line will undergo maintenance.
According to the report of the Cabinet-appointed committee, the islandwide blackout occurred when a Palmiste tree fell onto a single-phase 12kV distribution line located in the vicinity of Grant Trace Extension Road and a National Gas Company private road in Rousillac.
At the time the country was under a high wind yellow alert issued by the Meteorological Office. The line sagged, oscillated, swung and came into contact with the 220 kV line circuit which transmits most of the power from TGU to T&TEC. That created a fault causing protection relays on the two circuits of the 220 kV transmission line to trip sequentially. They became de-energised and isolated the TGU plant from the grid.
Gonzales said the new line will run simultaneously with the old.
“The result is that you have an additional line to transport electricity from the plant to the rest of the national grid because the tree fell on that singular line transporting electricity from this main plant that can generate 720 mW, at the time 600. It had this cascading effect on the other independent power producers because of load shedding,” he explained.
TGU has a contract with T&TEC to generate 720mW of electricity, but Trinidad could only receive approximately 600mW. With the new line, it can take the surplus.
