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Caribbean Electricity Group Wraps Up Conference

March 13, 2009 — Members of the Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation (CARILEC) from Bermuda to Trinidad wrapped up a three-day Occupational Health and Safety Conference at Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort on Friday with a tour of the V.I. Water and Power Authority’s Long Bay Substation.
CARILEC is an association of electric utilities, suppliers, manufacturers and other stakeholders in the Caribbean electricity industry, which holds about five yearly conferences to help train its members.
"It’s a sharing of ideas," said Olen Joseph, the health, safety and wellness officer for Antigua Public Utilities Authority. "I get ideas from my colleagues as to what they do to make health and safety programs succeed in their country and I can take those ideas back with me and try them out in my organization."
Friday’s conference featured presentations from WAPA, APUA, Jamaica Public Service Company, and Grand Bahama Power.
The conference aimed to step up sensitization efforts of utility companies and the public for occupational health and safety, according to CARILEC Business Development Manager Alison Pascal.
Topics included management of solid and toxic waste, air emissions, how to safely cut back trees from power lines, injury management and improving company safety culture.
Chantel Nesbitt, environmental health and safety coordinator for transmission and distribution for Grand Bahama Power, shared energy-saving public service announcements with her associates. Over the past year, energy costs were getting so high that the Bahamian government was assisting its residents to pay for them, she said. Tips included:
–Switching to energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs, which last 10 times longer and use two-thirds less energy;
— Using cold water and special cold-water detergent to wash laundry;
— Keeping the freezer full so as to prevent more cool air loss;
— Storing the refrigerator away from the stove or dishwasher;
— Save on cooling costs by closing windows and blinds during the day, insulating the house, and cleaning air filters;
— Saving all ironing for one day.
Currently, CARILEC has 98 members, and CARILEC Executive Director Nigel Hosein would like to benchmark international health and safety standards for all of them. Last year’s attempts yielded only four participants so the benchmarking efforts were scratched. This year, he hopes to get at least 10, but obtaining statistics can be difficult.
"In the Caribbean people tend not to report data," Hosein said. "If they know they’d perform well they’d be encouraged to do it. But if they feel they’re not performing where they should be, they’re going to wait until they get up to par, then start submitting information."
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