WILLEMSTAD – The power outage that affected large parts of Curaçao on Saturday evening around 9:00 p.m. was caused by a combination of factors within the island’s electricity network, according to utility company Aqualectra.
In an explanation issued after the incident, the utility said the disruption began earlier in the evening, prompting operators to implement what is known as “switching” within the electricity grid. The measure is used to protect the system and prevent a wider collapse by temporarily cutting power to certain areas.
According to Aqualectra, several generation units had already been taken offline in recent days for scheduled maintenance, reducing available capacity. As a result, part of the electricity system was relying on battery energy storage systems (BESS) to help meet demand.
However, as electricity consumption increased during the evening peak, the available capacity proved insufficient to fully absorb the higher demand.
The company said additional generation units were brought back online later, but the extra supply was not enough to immediately close the gap. To avoid overloading the network and risking a larger system failure, operators decided to temporarily shut down sections of the grid.
Aqualectra said the electricity system has since stabilized and that the switching system is no longer needed.
The utility apologized for the inconvenience caused to residents and businesses and emphasized that work is ongoing to strengthen the island’s electricity generation capacity. Among the long-term measures is the construction of the new Salu Power Plant, which is expected to increase generation capacity and improve grid reliability.