CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet invited the three APUA managers and the APUA General Manager to come before the body in order to assess the readiness of the APUA to supply electricity, water, telephone and INET services, during the pandemic and beyond.
The Electricity Manager spoke to the issue of sufficiency of power generation over the next 15 years, the life of the current plants that produce electricity, and the need to plan for additional power generation now.
The current generating capacity stands at 82 megawatts, and peak demand is close to 60 mgw. However, several engines may pass their useful life shortly, requiring replacements that take into account greenhouse gas emissions, the state’s carbon footprint, and the plan to place all government buildings on renewable energy systems that will eliminate nearly 25% of the demand now placed on APUA.
The Water Manager listed the number of new reverse osmosis plants that are coming on board within the next 12 months, that will take into account the increasing need for potable water which an expanding economy and new housing will trigger.
The Potworks Dam was yielding 700,000 gallons per day following the rains of last November 9 and 10, 2020; since drought-like conditions have returned, the amount now required of the Potworks Dam has increased to more than 2,100,000 gallons daily. Folks with water storage capacity are filling their tanks to avoid a shortage in households. Barbuda has a supply of 200,000 gallons of potable water daily.
Several broken cast-iron pipes that cause severe leakage in Ottos and Point will be replaced, the manager promised; it will involve inconvenience for motorists since the surfaces of roads will have to be removed in order to access the buried broken pipes. The resources for completing this exercise have already been secured.
New intelligent water-meters that allow for top-ups will be installed for customers who may wish to limit their household expenditure on the precious fluid. When the value of the amount has been consumed, the meter will shut-off supply until an additional amount is purchased, not unlike cellphones that require top-ups when the paid value has been consumed.
The Telephone/INET Manager reported that since 2018, the number of customers reliant upon APUA/INET has moved to more than 25,000, yielding revenues of more than $18,000,000 annually. INET has been a success story, despite an attempt by a previous administration to end its existence.
The Fiber to Home network is proceeding steadily, the Cabinet was informed, with 21,000 of 43,000 households targeted for the change-over by December 2021.
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election promises
How long have they been promising this? All bullshit and Robin-the-hood needs to be removed from office as well. Another teefin scumbag.
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