The main electricity infrastructure held up fairly well during Tropical Storm Matthew. Apart from the Union Substation which suffered some minimal flooding, the Cul De Sac Power Station and the remaining substations (Cul De Sac, Soufriere, Vieux Fort, Praslin, Castries, Reduit) all came through the weather system intact.
Several parts of the island suffered power outages as a result of the loss of Union Substation, branches or trees falling on power lines or poles coming down. Based on system loading, approximately, 70% of customers would have been affected.
Power restoration work began early Thursday morning and steady progress is being made. By midday, approximately 75% of customers had electricity. Some of the major areas still out included: Upper Augier, Fond Jouyeux, Pierrot, Desruisseaux and Canelles in Vieux Fort, parts of Micoud and Dennery, Southern Canaries, some parts of Choiseul, some parts of Soufriere, Ti Rocher into Forestierre, and some parts of Marisule and Corinth.
LUCELEC crews were having some challenges getting to Soufriere during the morning which hampered the restoration effort there.
The expectation is that power should be restored to 98% of the system by the end of the day.
A further update will be provided by 6 p.m.