NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 19, 2024)- The Nevis Electricity Company Limited (NEVLEC) has come in for high commendation from a wide cross-section of the Nevisian populace for its efficiency in maintaining and restoring power during the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto on Tuesday, August 13.

Persons took to social media, posting on NEVLEC’s Facebook page: “Thank you NEVLEC Team. Great service during difficult times. Appreciated”, “Thank you for the updates. Good job NEVLEC”, “To the crew, we appreciate your commitment at this time”, “Thanks to the crews working in less than ideal conditions”.

NEVLEC reported Tuesday evening that crews had been deployed during the winds and rains and had swiftly brought all feeders that experienced issues back online. Shortly after 11:00 that same evening the company reported that 99.5 percent of the island had power. Localized outages due to blown fuses, vegetation, and fallen trees were remedied early on Wednesday, August 14.

Persons also expressed their appreciation to the Nevis Water Department (NWD) for maintaining service throughout the storm with no reports of interruptions.

Premier of Nevis the Honourable Mark Brantley, Minister of Public Utilities in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) also praised the electricity and water departments on Nevis for the resilience demonstrated during the storm.

Premier Brantley, during his weekly radio programme “On The Mark” on VON Radio on August 14, said while the island did not sustain a direct hit, it allowed all of Nevis to take a sober look at the state of island’s infrastructure.

“[TS] Ernesto came, and Nevis had power, Nevis had water, Nevis’ roads stood up strong like a lion.

“I always used to marvel that as I and my government were being castigated by the then Prime Minister [Dr. Timothy Harris] and his [cronies] in Nevis saying that we were wasting money, we were investing money in things that all of us can see and things that have made the lives of our people better.”

He continued, “It is because NEVLEC has the capacity and the manpower and the training and the investment why by Tuesday night just as the all clear was given NEVLEC put out a notice saying 99.5 percent of Nevis already had power restored. They talk about building better, being more sustainable in what we do, being more resilient, climate smart construction, all of this language that we hear now- we in Nevis were climate-proofing our infrastructure.”

The Premier pointed out that improvement to the reliability in Nevis’ water and electricity network did not happen overnight nor was it a matter of chance.

“I have taken the time to point out that far from wasting money in Nevis the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM)-led administration invested money in the sustainable development of this island. Improvement to the reliability in the water and electricity network…happened because there was a plan and there was a decided action by the Cabinet, by the Administration to invest.

“I try to make the point to our people that you have a government that is sensible, that is prudent, and that has always acted in the best interest of the people of Nevis.”

He gave the assurance that the Nevis Island Administration Cabinet intends to continue actualizing its development agenda against the reality of being a small island with severely limited resources in terms of its financial commitments.