Blackout in Guadeloupe: five minutes to understand how the archipelago was deprived of electricity

The archipelago was plunged into total darkness for almost 24 hours. Electricity is gradually returning to Guadeloupe this Saturday, the day after a widespread outage which affected the territory. This “black-out” was caused by the “illegal shutdown” of the engines of the EDF-PEI Jarry power plant, which supplies almost all of the territory’s electricity.

This Saturday morning, power had been restored to nearly “65%” of homes in Guadeloupe, said EDF, specifying that there were still nearly “80,500 customers” deprived of electricity, and that the electrical resupply would be “ progressive to ensure the stability of the electricity network.

What happened?

Friday morning, at 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. in mainland France), Guadeloupe was plunged into darkness after a “widespread electrical incident”, according to the terms used by EDF. The outage was caused by the shutdown of the 12 engines at the EDF-PEI Jarry plant, which supplies almost all of the electricity in the area of ​​nearly 380,000 inhabitants.

The police quickly intervened inside the plant to “secure the control room”, continued the prefecture, adding that several employees, “necessary for the operation of the plant”, were requisitioned “by the route of a prefectural decree” to ensure the continuity of electricity production.

Saturday morning, “seven engines out of the 12 at the Jarry power station” were able to “be restarted” after the repair of one “of the emergency engines, specifically dedicated to restarting the electrical system,” EDF said.

What are the consequences?

On the archipelago, the announcement of the widespread outage caused some concern, particularly regarding water distribution, the operation of the hospital and essential public services. According to the prefecture, water distribution was interrupted in several municipalities, affecting “30% of the overall population including 80% of Grande Terre”. Mobile telephone networks have also been greatly impacted.

To continue operating, health establishments have started their generators. According to the Guadeloupe Hospital Center (CHUG), “the maintenance teams have activated the generators on all the sites concerned”, he indicated, adding that “the critical units of the hospital have autonomy of 72 hours. EDF also filed a complaint against X for “endangering others”.

A “general curfew” was also decreed at the end of the day on Friday across the entire territory. Despite this curfew, several incidents of urban violence were noted during the night in different municipalities of the archipelago, notably in Baie-Mahault and Lamentin, without causing any injuries, the gendarmes said, citing barricades and trash cans burned. The curfew was lifted this Saturday morning at 6 a.m. local time.

In what context does the action of these striking employees take place?

For several weeks, a social conflict has pitted the energy branch of the CGT and the management of EDF Island Electric Production (PEI) in Guadeloupe. The movement began on September 15 after the implementation of an agreement signed in early 2023, after two months of strike by the same agents.

A first movement during which the strikers demanded that their contracts and their remuneration be brought into compliance with labor law, in particular five years of unpaid salary arrears. This initial strike has since caused power cuts affecting up to 100,000 homes.

Monday October 21, the management of EDF PEI proposed the signing of an agreement which the CGT Guadeloupe energy federation refused, in particular because of the method of calculating paid leave. According to strikers at the power plant, interviewed by an AFP correspondent, this shutdown of the engines was also decided “after the management summoned one of (their) leaders, perhaps with a view to dismissal” .

“No salary demand, however legitimate, can justify such actions with catastrophic consequences,” reacted the president of the department, Guy Losbar, referring to “sabotage”. The prefect “condemns with the greatest firmness the action”.