Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (Tuesday, November 7, 2017) FortisTCI announced today that electricity is now restored to all customers throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands that can currently receive it, bringing to a close all major electricity restoration efforts related to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. This announcement comes shortly after final work on rebuilding sections of the transmission and distribution networks on Grand Turk and Salt Cay, two of the hardest hit islands, concluded yesterday.
Work to restore electricity to Turks and Caicos began immediately after the ‘all clear’ was issued by the government on September 8, and was quickly ramped up with the support and arrival of 58 Fortis emergency response employees on September 10. The full restoration included several hundred utility and contract workers locally, and from across Canada, the United States, and the Cayman Islands.
FortisTCI President and CEO Eddinton Powell said, “I am pleased to say that the full return of electricity to the Turks and Caicos Islands has occurred in less than eight weeks. We have set a new standard in the Caribbean for restoration from a hurricane. We would not have achieved this without the unqualified support of our parent company Fortis Inc., and our sister subsidiaries across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean and their employees that volunteered to help us, and to the staff of FortisTCI for responding with a sense of urgency to what was a devastating situation. Also, our success would not have been possible without the close working relationship with the TCI government, their leadership, and the partnerships with other key stakeholders. The community has been patient and supportive which made our job easier. Thank you.”
While electricity is now available to all customers that can receive it, persons with damages to their homes and businesses or those with isolated issues must have all necessary repairs completed before reconnection of service can be done. Once repairs are completed, the property must then be inspected by the Government Planning Department and a certificate for reconnection submitted to FortisTCI. FortisTCI again encourages all customers to contact a licensed electrician before undertaking any electrical repairs.
###
Notes to Editors:
1) FortisTCI Limited (FTCI) is the sole provider of electricity on Providenciales, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, South Caicos, East Caicos and adjacent Cays. In August 2012, Turks and Caicos Utility Limited (TCU), which is the sole provider of electricity on the Islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay, was acquired by FTCI. Together the two companies serve more than 15,500 electricity customers in the Turks & Caicos Islands archipelago. FTCI and TCU have an aggregate diesel-fired generating capacity of approximately 82 megawatts. For further information visit www.fortistci.com
2) FortisTCI is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry. For further information visit www.fortisinc.com.
