PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Mar 29, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government says it has put all security forces on alert as the island continued to be under a nationwide power outage.
A statement from the office of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar said that the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force and Trinidad and Tobago Police Service have been mobilised and deployed, supported by air patrols from the National Security Operations Centre, into several key areas throughout the country.
According to the statement, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar “in her capacity as Chair of the National Security Council ordered an increase in the national security alert and that “this precautionary measure was enacted to ensure that law and order was maintained, and critical infrastructure remained secure during the blackout”.
The island-wide power outage occurred just after 12.30 am (local time) Friday and the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) said that it is as a result of problem with the gas supply from its providers.
“The problem was external to us,” said T&TEC Corporate Communications Manager, Anabelle Brasnell, assuring the nation that every effort was being made to have their supply returned to normal as soon as possible,
The statement from the Prime Minister’s office said that she had “requested a full report from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs and the Ministry of Public Utilities as to the cause of the blackout and what contingencies or redundancies should be put in place to avoid a recurrence of such a situation. “The public is assured that all necessary agencies are working to rectify the problem,” it added, noting that law enforcement officials had been able to prevent an attempt by some people to loot a supermarket on the outskirts of the capital.
“Coordination of the security effort continues via the National Strategic Command and the National Emergency Operations Centre, comprising all emergency systems and these agencies are prepared to respond to any incident if necessary,” the statement added.
