WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao experienced a widespread power failure that affected the entire island for several hours. At approximately 9 p.m. local time, Aqualectra, the energy company, announced that electricity had been restored to large parts of the island. The outage was primarily caused by a fault in one of the main cables, according to the company's statement.
Aqualectra's technicians analyzing the problem
Aqualectra has been facing challenges meeting the high electricity demand due to the recent intense heat. The surge in energy consumption resulted from the widespread use of air conditioners by households and businesses. Over the past few days, Curaçao has been enduring extreme temperatures, reaching up to 37 degrees Celsius. Consequently, local authorities have implemented a practice of dismissing students at noon.
Reports from local media indicate that the Curaçao Medical Center promptly switched to backup generators, ensuring uninterrupted power supply. To conserve electricity, only the necessary wards with patients were provided with electrical support.
Despite the power outage, the airport continued its operations, with planes able to land and take off as usual. The airport has backup generators in place to maintain essential services. However, the air conditioning systems were temporarily affected.
Following the power failure, traffic congestion occurred in various locations across the island as many individuals left their workplaces simultaneously. This situation led to difficulties, particularly at busy intersections where the traffic lights were non-functional.
In a separate incident this week, Bonaire also experienced a power outage caused by a fire at the Karpata power plant.