These are some of the questions we regularly get asked when any loss of supply is reported on-island, and unfortunately, there is no 'one size fits all' answer.
Each situation is unique, and though we do our best to locate, restore and resolve all electrical issues as quickly and safely as possible, there will always be some complex situations requiring more complicated responses where electricity is involved.
We want to help identify some of the common occurrences we see in our underground electricity network and explain what we are doing to manage and maintain our grid and ensure we maintain a robust and resilient system that's fit for purpose, both today, and well into the future.
We understand it's inconvenient when supply is disrupted and aim to update our customers through social media as the information becomes available. We think it's useful to let people know when customers may be experiencing an issue, even if in some cases, where a low voltage fault has occurred, there may only be a handful of customers impacted.
Why do power outages occur?
There are many causes of power outages, with weather and cable faults being, by far, the two most common. As with most electricity network providers, we do tend to see more faults in the winter months due to a combination of factors such as progressively higher loads and wet weather.
In the event of a fault or potential issue, GEL Engineers are dispatched to source the location and reason for the fault and work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. In many cases this is delivered in under an hour, although this can depend on the complexity of the issue.
Not all faults or outages are due to ‘emergency works’ or related to issues such as weather. GEL frequently locate and restore supplies after a third party has damaged an electricity asset and there are non-load-related faults.
Are we having more issues than ever?
During the recent cold weather, demand for electricity in Guernsey peaked at 94.2MW, matching the historical maximum set during lockdown in February 2021. This additional demand has caused some localised supply interruptions this Winter. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused to our customers and will continue to make every effort to communicate service updates proactively and restore services as quickly as possible.
Over a longer period, the number of faults overall remains stable, and we are not seeing a particular trend upwards year on year. Guernsey performs well compared to other jurisdictions on the average number of minutes lost per customer per year through such incidents, with 99.9% availability of supply maintained across the year by GEL.
What about road closures and infrastructure?
Most of Guernsey’s cable infrastructure is buried beneath the roads, alongside other utilities infrastructure such as water and telecommunications equipment. We know it can be inconvenient when roads are closed, particularly when routes used by a large volume of Islanders are impacted. GEL works collaboratively with other local businesses to minimise the disruption to the roads through coordinating planned works wherever possible.
We continually invest in the power network to ensure it delivers a robust and resilient system, and when peaks occur, customers can continue to enjoy an uninterrupted electricity supply.
Recent examples of key network enhancement projects can be seen at Beau Sejour and the Princess Elizabeth Hospital substations, each house two 20MVA electricity transformers capable of supplying 25% of the island’s electricity. These are major projects and considerable investments in the Island’s infrastructure.
A greater level of investment is required and must be sustained in the long term to keep up with the increasing demand and changes in the way we all use electricity, reflecting the Electricity Strategy that has been agreed.
Future Demand - what's the plan?
Generating electricity from the Vale power station is dependable, and there is sufficient capacity to meet all the Island’s electricity demand if necessary, but significant upgrades are required to ageing infrastructure.
The power station needs to be able to supply the whole Island on a continual basis if and when required. To achieve this, it remains on ‘standby’ and has high levels of resilience built in. Keeping it ready for use in an emergency, however, takes lots of investment and maintenance which is delivered through dedicated GEL teams who work 24/7.
