Friday July 23, 2010

The Electrical Inspection Unit (EIU) of the Ministry of Communications and Works is reminding the general public that persons wishing to install a standby generator should submit an application to the ministry before placement and installation.

Electrical Inspector, Mr. McGregor Williams revealed during a GIS radio report that the BVIEC Ordinance mandates approval from the ministry before installing standby generators.

Mr. Williams said prior to installing a generator owners must hire a licensed electrician and submit an application for approval. Once the application is received a scheduled inspection of the location for the generator is conducted with the owner’s electrician and an Electrical Inspector. If the inspection is successful an approval letter granting permission to install the generator will be issued.

The purpose of this extensive process according to the inspector is ultimately for safety reasons. “Generators should be located in an area free from flooding, they should not be too close to buildings where there are windows exposed to ventilation, and they should not be close to combustion material or overhanging trees,” Mr. Williams said. He further stated that generators must be wired correctly and placed on concrete slabs. Additionally the exhaust vents must be extended to open air and not towards windows that can result in death from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Inspector also spoke about how generators affect the BVI Electricity Corporation operations.
“An unapproved generator installation could feedback into the BVIEC system where a officer might be on a job site working and not aware of where generators are and can easily be electrocuted,” Mr. Williams said.

Mr. Williams noted that once generators are inspected it reduces the risks to the BVIEC lines man. “If an inspection was carried out on a generator the BVIEC wouldn’t have to worry about the generator feeding back into the system because it was already checked by the Electrical Inspection Unit,” he highlighted.

For more information regarding generator installation please contact the Electrical Inspection Unit at 468-3604.
The Electrical Inspection Unit’s goal is to reduce loss of property and lives caused by electrical damage.