Nearly a week after Hurricane Matthew roughly 50% of residents here in the capital have had their power restored this according to President of The Electrical Workers Union Paul Maynard.
Mr. Maynard admitted that crews are having difficulties restoring power to certain areas like South Beach, Seabreeze and Yamacraw, all of which suffered significant hurricane damage.
He urged the public to be considerate to hard work and dedication displayed by the workers during the restoration efforts.
“I’m appealing to the public to know that our guys are working extremely hard, we’ve been working from 7 in the morning to 1am.
“The public has to be patient.
“We have enough man power and equipment on this island to get the work done.
“This is the 6th day and obviously workers are getting tired but we have to rest to remain alert and avoid people getting hurt,” Mr. Maynard said.
Mr. Maynard insisted that prior to starting restoration efforts, officials should have forewarned the public that it could be up to a month before power is fully restored here New Providence.
Furthermore, he’s advising the public to grasp some sense of reality in terms of restoring electricity as there are challenges, as crews are dealing with significant water damage in cables.
“We should have told the public from the start that the situation is a very complex one.
“It’s not going to happen in a week, persons have to be realistic.
“The guys working in the field understand what’s going on and I know everyone is anxious to get their power restored but it’s not going to happen in a week.
“It’s very complex and you don’t want us to make a mistake, we can’t afford to lose lives or burn people’s houses down,” Mr. Maynard said.
He also mention that officials are also shifting their attention to Andros, as that island has yet to get any power station up and running.
In regards to Grand Bahama which received the full brunt of Matthew’s wrath, Maynard says assistance is coming shortly from Emera Electric Company.
Over in the United States, hurricane Matthew left nearly three million people in darkness in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia officials there have estimated that power won’t be fully up and running for up to two months.
