The fuel leak, along with three engines going out of service, resulted in a significant portion of Aruba being without power for six hours.
A fuel leak in the gas turbine at the WEB plant was the cause of power interruption in different neighborhoods in the late afternoon hours. on Friday, May 3rd.
Due to the leak and the risk of ignition, it was not safe to keep the turbine operational, so according to safety protocols, plant personnel were obliged to shut down the gas turbine.
Repairing the leak took time, but then there were delays in resetting and restarting the turbine.
In total, it took about 6 hours before all affected areas regained their power supply.
Normally, the gas turbine is only used in emergencies or when the demand for power is high. However, it is currently in operation because two of the RECIP engines are out of service for repairs, and another is undergoing regular maintenance.
Yesterday’s winds dropped to 1-2MW at the same time also meant there was not enough wind energy to meet the current high demand.
Compared to last year, the peak demand for this period is 20-25MW higher than last year. Due to this delicate situation, WEB is appealing to the community to use electricity conscientiously and apologizes for the inconvenience.
