Kralendijk, April 23ed, 2024 – On Saturday, April 20th , a contractor performing excavation work for an external party accidentally damaged an underground high-voltage cable.
As a result, Water -en Energiebedrijf Bonaire (WEB) was forced to implement controlled power outages (loadshedding) to prevent a total failure of the power supply. Various neighborhoods experienced disruption as the power supply was temporarily cut off.
WEB employees worked into the late hours to repair the damaged cables and fully restore the power supply.
For WEB, it is essential that contractors strictly adhere to the demarcated zones established in the permits received.
The contractor in question deviated from the area for which a permit had been granted. Our safety protocols were violated, requiring WEB to take above mentioned actions. This could also have led to life-threatening situations, which fortunately did not occur in this case.
The excavation permit requires that trial trenches be dug first to verify the exact location of underground cables and pipes before starting the actual excavation work.
WEB apologizes for the inconvenience caused and remains committed to preventing the recurrence of such situations.
