Barbados Light and Power Company (BL&P) announced Wednesday that 50 percent of its customer base is now linked to an upgraded automated electricity grid, a transformative update that company officials project will slash power outage durations and drastically boost service reliability across the island nation. In some cases, the smart system can resolve unplanned faults in under two minutes, company representatives confirmed during a press briefing held at BL&P’s Garrison headquarters.
The milestone marks a key progress update for BL&P’s multi-million-dollar grid modernization initiative, which first launched back in 2016. David Haynes, BL&P’s operations technology administrator, framed the achievement as a groundbreaking milestone not just for the Barbadian utility, but for energy providers across the entire Caribbean region. “This is a very unique milestone, especially not only for Barbados Light and Power, but for utilities in the Caribbean, having more than half of our grid modernized to a point where we can respond to faults in some instances in less than two minutes,” Haynes stated.
Prior to the rollout of automated grid technology, restoring power after an outage required a time-intensive, manual process. Utility crews had to travel to the affected site, conduct on-foot investigations to locate the fault, manually isolate the problematic section of the grid, and only then begin restoring service. Depending on the size and location of the outage, this process could take a minimum of 60 minutes to complete. Haynes explained that the modernized system has cut that timeline dramatically, with most outages resolved in 15 minutes or less, and many cleared far faster.
The upgrade replaces outdated manual disconnect systems with intelligent automated switches fitted with custom-built algorithms. These tools can automatically detect and isolate grid faults in less than 30 seconds, while immediately restoring power to all customers connected to unaffected sections of the line. In many minor fault events, Haynes added, customers may not even notice a temporary interruption to their service. The technology also equips grid control room operators to pinpoint the exact location of faults remotely, eliminating the need for crews to patrol entire circuit lengths to identify problems before starting repairs.
A key additional benefit of the new system is its ability to quickly resolve common transient outages caused by tree and vegetation contact with overhead power lines, a persistent issue for many Caribbean utilities. The automated switches detect these temporary faults and restore service in a matter of seconds, avoiding extended disruptions for customers.
Director of transmission and distribution Dr. Nneka Archer emphasized that the $5 million modernization investment has prioritized underserved rural communities, rather than concentrating upgrades solely on densely populated urban centers or high-traffic tourism districts. “Most of the time people think when we make investments into modernisation, we go into the town areas, we go on the west coast. We started in the rural feeders,” Archer explained, noting that these rural areas often rely on longer distribution lines that serve large customer bases, making upgrades especially impactful.
BL&P first rolled out the automated grid technology to customers in 2019, and has since expanded access to more than 70,000 customers across all of Barbados’ parishes. To date, the company has installed 61 automated switches at a total cost of roughly $5 million. When the full modernization project is completed, 81 percent of BL&P customers will be connected to the automated grid. The remaining 19 percent of customers are connected to underground networks or smaller feeders that require specialized, alternative grid modernization solutions, Archer added.