While the timing for such is incomprehensible several stakeholders are calling on the supervisory board of GEBE to remove its managing director who seems to be running the company aground. "I need to know if Brooks used up all his reserve and how he allowed something like this to happen at this time of the year. There is a global economic crisis worldwide and government cannot allow such mistakes since every dollar is needed" said one businessman.
It is understood that a barge with fuel arrived on the island from Statia sometime yesterday and workers from GEBE was busy pumping that fuel into their tank late yesterday afternoon. However, the bad news is that this amount of fuel would only last until this morning while another barge which left Antigua yesterday arrived on the island last night but it could not dock since it arrived on the island during dark hours. The fuel on that barge SMN News understands would only last a few weeks and all necessary precautions would have to be taken to ensure there is enough fuel to get pass the holiday season.
President of the Chamber of Commerce Glen Carty said the situation is incomprehensible, he said he is hoping that GEBE would be able to give the people of this island some sort of explanation as to why something like this could happen at this time of the year. Furthermore, Carty believes there has to be some sort of miscommunication between the supplier and buyer since there is no real shortage of fuel anywhere else. Carty who is also a businessman said he wants to know where the planning went wrong because this situation is definitely not healthy for the island.
Several businesses throughout Philipsburg already indicated that business for this season has been slashed by half due to the economic crisis. Sometime last week there were four ships in port and businesses already realized they only make 50% of the sales they made last year when there were four ships in port. They said they already have an indication that the tourist is shopping less even though they are travelling. "It is already clear that the travelers today had their tickets and travel arrangements prior to the economic crisis so that travelled but they are cutting back on spending." Said one businessman.
Crime and Blackout
In a man in the street interview Panvie of Caribbean Gems said people were scared to enter the dark shops even though there were five people there. This blackout has placed a major damper on business yesterday. The businesswoman said while there is lost of business which cannot be repaired they were also concerned for their safety since the island has been witnessing some broad daylight robbery. "It seems as if GEBE is in the business of promoting crime because without power the cameras and telephones are not working".
Arun from Boolchands said he cannot understand how the supervisory board of GEBE can allow such as disaster to befall the island. He said if there was some sort of technical problem he would have understood but lack of fuel is unacceptable. "Since Brooks took over the management of GEBE there has been disaster upon disaster." Arun said.
While Steve said this is a good start of country status. "We heard so much of Kingdom Day and the RTC and St. Maarten getting its country status and then the entire island is thrown into darkness. This goes to show what vision and light there is in the new country".
In the meantime GEBE said that outages can be expected Tuesday due to lack of fuel on St. Maarten.
GEBE management was informed late last week by SOL - main fuel supplier to GEBE - about a shortage of Heavy Fuel Oil. SOL and GEBE have been exhausting all possibilities to continue the electricity supply to the community of St. Maarten.
The GEBE Power Plant at Cay Bay switched over to light fuel over the weekend and has been working with SOL to acquire additional fuel from other fuel suppliers, including Statia Oil Terminals, in order to sustain electricity supply until SOL's tanker arrives on the island Tuesday evening, December 16, 2008. 
Both GEBE and SOL have tightened their controls on the fuel supplies since an "off-spec" fuel delivery caused a number of outages and engine problems earlier this year. The difficulty in sourcing Heavy Fuel Oil at GEBE's specifications and the increased demand at the start of the tourist season are the main reasons behind the temporary fuel shortage.
A number of other entities on the island that utilizes generators for the production of electricity also use light fuel oil including motor vessels, and combined have added to the challenge of a limited supply of fuel for the production of electricity.
GEBE is therefore advising its customers that some load shedding may be necessary for Tuesday, December 16, 2008 until the new supply of fuel arrives on the island. To prepare for an outage, GEBE recommends unplugging any sensitive electronic appliances and leaving a radio or light on to alert you when the electricity has been restored.
GEBE Managing Director, William Brooks, is encouraging the community to minimize the impact by following this advice: turning off any unnecessary appliances and reducing electricity consumption as much as possible. "If we all can reduce our electricity consumption as much as possible, we will be able to stretch the fuel as far as possible until SOL can replenish their fuel storage tanks," Brooks stated.
GEBE apologizes in advance for the inconvenience to the general public but will do everything possible to minimize the impact on the community.
Power supply returned to the island by 8pm last evening. Some parts of the island were restored by 5pm.
SMN News tried securing a comment from SOL Antilles but that statement was not forthcoming up to press time last night.
