Belle Plain Power Station

The Belle Plain Power Station (BPPS) was commissioned in the year 2012. The sudden loss of the IBT at the Soufriere Substation (SSS) necessitated its commissioning. It comprises of 2 Caterpillar engines, currently rated at 1.2 MW each. Electricity is generated by the CATs at 415 volts and stepped up to 11kV via two pad mounted transformers on site. 

The BPPS has historically been operated locally, whenever it is required to run, operations staff are dispatched to the site. They perform the starting, synchronizing and closure of the engines on to the system. Under the instruction of the system control department, the operations staff varies the output of the engines to ensure a consistent and precise system voltage within the area.

Though its commissioning was initially to ensure a reliable supply in the Soufriere area during the period in which the Inter Bus Transformer was out of commission the BPPS has remained a necessary asset in the area. This is due to the design of the SSS; maintenance work on the Inter Bus Transformer often requires that the BPPS be operated to ensure the stability of supply in the area.

Plans are currently being executed to further expand the capabilities of the station to allow it to be dispatched remotely from CDSPS. This will be executed over LUCELEC’s newly developed fiber optic network.