WILLEMSTAD – Aqualectra has postponed all planned maintenance work on Curaçao’s electricity and water networks scheduled for this week as the utility concentrates its resources on stabilizing the island’s fragile power supply.
The utility announced the decision on social media following several days of electricity shortages and rotating power cuts in different parts of Curaçao.
According to Aqualectra, all scheduled maintenance on both the electricity grid and water network has been postponed until further notice.
“Our main objective at this moment is to stabilize the electricity supply and prevent any additional inconvenience to our community,” the company said.
The decision means planned work that could potentially require temporary interruptions of electricity or water service will not take place this week.
The measure comes as Aqualectra continues dealing with limited electricity generation capacity. The company previously reported that four generating units are currently unavailable because of technical failures, reducing its conventional generating capacity at a time when high temperatures are pushing electricity demand upward.
The utility has also been dealing with periods of weak wind, reducing production from Curaçao’s wind turbines and increasing pressure on conventional generation and battery storage.
On Tuesday, Aqualectra was forced to implement load shedding in several neighborhoods. Electricity had been restored to all customers by 6:40 p.m., after which the company said it was able to stop the rotating outages.
However, Aqualectra warned that the situation remained delicate and that additional load shedding could become necessary if the balance between electricity production and demand deteriorates again.
By postponing scheduled maintenance, the company is seeking to avoid additional planned disruptions while its technical teams focus on maintaining electricity supply.
Aqualectra has not indicated when the postponed electricity and water network maintenance will be rescheduled. The company said the suspension will remain in effect until further notice.