ORANJESTAD- Birds crashing into high power lines on St. Eustatius are thought responsible for various power outages in St. Eustatius in past days. This at least is the assessment of the St. Eustatius Utility Company (STUCO). 

According to a press release from STUCO the contact with the bird set off a serious short circuit, at a moment when the island was completely powered by the Solar Park. 

“The severity of the grid fault on the Solar Park resulted in miscommunications between de Solar Park and the Power Plant. Consequently, subsequent attempts to restart the Solar Park, while restoring power to the island, resulted in additional blackouts, leading to a shutdown of the entire grid”, according to STUCO Management.

Restored

In the meantime, the power to the island has been restored by providing power from the Power Plant. A new attempt to restart the Solar Park, will take place on Sunday morning.