THE planned shut-down by independent power producer (IPP) Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) has been completed without any power outages.

There were fears that the planned shut-down for scheduled upgrade work at TGU's Union Estate plant, La Brea, might result in blackouts throughout the country.

On Sunday, the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) said its systems were back to normal.

A statement from the Ministry of Public Utilities said the planned shut-down, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, had been completed, and the plant was fully back online.

Other IPPs, PowerGen and CotourGlobal Trinity, which would have been on standby in the event of any emergency, were instructed to return to normal operations.

Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales thanked the three IPPs for the collaboration to allow for the smooth completion of TGU’s upgrade.

He also commended all employees and partners who worked to ensure all processes went as planned and no outages were required, even with the country’s primary power plant shut down.

He expressed gratitude to customers for their assistance in managing their consumption over the period.

T&TEC’s communications manager Annabelle Brasnell also confirmed the operation went as smoothly as planned.

She said TGU was able to successfully bring its machines and equipment offline, while PowerGen and CotourGlobal Trinity was able to cover the capacity for customers.

Plans and systems in place worked perfectly, so customers were not affected by outages caused by TGU being offline, Brasnell said.

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