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OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM BVIEC ON VIRGIN GORDA’S EXTENDED OUTAGE
Tortola, British Virgin Islands, April 27, 2026 — The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) wishes to address the extended power outage that affected the island of Virgin Gorda for approximately 15 hours, and to provide our valued customers with a full account of the incident and the challenges encountered during restoration.
Summary of the Incident
At approximately 5:49 AM, BVIEC received reports of a power outage affecting Virgin Gorda. Minutes later, at 5:54 AM, an accident was reported in the Brandywine Bay area. Our initial assessment confirmed that the incident had impacted the entire Virgin Gorda system as well as the Long Swamp East feeder serving the Paraquita Bay section. Given the location of the fault on the transmission line, it was necessary to de-energise the eastern end of the network in order to safely assess the damage and carry out repairs. A planned outage was subsequently scheduled from 7:45 AM to 9:30 AM to facilitate this work in a controlled and safe manner.
Restoration Challenges
At approximately 9:10 AM, during restoration attempts, our technical team encountered difficulties in restoring supply to Virgin Gorda. Remote troubleshooting was conducted; however, it was quickly determined that on-site intervention would be required. A response team travelled to Virgin Gorda on the 1:00 PM ferry, and the fault was identified at approximately 4:30 PM. Additional personnel and materials were then dispatched on the 6:30 PM ferry, and certain critical materials, including cables, were sourced externally from Oil Nut Bay to expedite the repair effort.
Cause of the Delay
The fault was traced to a faulted earthing transformer within the Virgin Gorda system. The Virgin Gorda network is designed with built-in redundancy, comprising two interconnector transformers, two earthing transformers, and two submarine cables supplying the island from the Long Swamp Substation.
Unfortunately, one of the cables has been out of service due to prior damage caused in late 2025, leaving one main supply source. When the transformer operating on that lone cable failed, the system’s available redundancy was further reduced, which significantly complicated and prolonged restoration efforts.
Restoration
To restore supply, our team reconfigured the system by pairing Interconnector Transformer 1 with Earthing Transformer 2 and completing the necessary repairs and wiring adjustments on-site. Full power was successfully restored to Virgin Gorda at approximately 8:30 PM.
Recognition of Our Team
The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation extends its sincere appreciation to the dedicated staff members who worked tirelessly throughout the day and into the evening to restore power to Virgin Gorda. Their professionalism, technical expertise, and unwavering commitment in the face of challenging conditions made the restoration of service possible.
A special acknowledgement is also extended to Mr. Nathaniel Penn, a former BVIEC employee, who travelled to Virgin Gorda to lend his expertise and provide invaluable assistance to the restoration efforts. His willingness to step forward in support of the team and the community is deeply appreciated.
Special Thanks to Our Community Partners
The successful restoration of power to Virgin Gorda was made possible not only through the hard work of our team but also through the generosity and support of several community partners, to whom we extend our heartfelt thanks:
- Oil Nut Bay, for providing the cable that was used to complete the critical repair work. Their willingness to make this material available at short notice played a key role in expediting the restoration effort.
- District Representative the Honourable Vincent Wheatley, for graciously providing dinner for the BVIEC team as they worked into the evening to restore service to the residents and businesses of his district.
- The Bath and Turtle team, for kindly accommodating our staff and preparing the meal despite the request coming during the closing hours of their kitchen.
- Mr. Beno Farrington, for reaching out to the team and generously offering a complimentary boat ride back to Beef Island following the completion of the restoration works.
These contributions reflect the spirit of community and partnership that defines Virgin Gorda, and BVIEC is profoundly grateful for the support extended to our team during a long and demanding day.
A Message to Our Customers
The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation also sincerely apologises to the residents, businesses, and visitors of Virgin Gorda for the inconvenience, disruption, and hardship caused by this extended outage. We fully recognise the impact that prolonged loss of power has on daily life, commerce, and essential services, and we do not take that impact lightly.
We further extend our gratitude to our customers for their patience and understanding throughout the day. BVIEC remains firmly committed to strengthening the reliability and resilience of the Virgin Gorda network and to keeping our customers fully informed as we move forward with the necessary follow-up works.
For updates and further information, please visit our website and follow our official social media channels.
