GREAT BAY--Electricity companies across the Caribbean have spent much of the summer trying to solve versions of the same problem: demand is climbing, generating units are breaking down, backup capacity is shrinking and island grids have nowhere else to turn when supply falls short.
The difficulties have been particularly visible in Curaçao and Anguilla, two islands with close economic and social links to St. Maarten. Both entered the closing weeks of summer with reduced generating capacity and the possibility, or reality, of rotating outages. Their situations are not identical, but they highlight one of the fundamental weaknesses of Caribbean electricity systems: when several engines become unavailable at the same time, the margin between normal operation and load shedding can disappear quickly.
The summer also unfolded against a regional climate outlook that warned of increasing heat. The Caribbean Regional Climate Centre forecast significant heat stress toward August and September, with higher demand expected for air conditioning, refrigeration and other cooling services. The effect is straightforward for utilities: hotter days and warmer nights mean customers consume more electricity precisely when generation equipment is being asked to operate for longer periods and with less downtime.
Curaçao runs short of firm power
Curaçao offers one of the clearest examples. Aqualectra entered August with approximately 150 megawatts of conventional generating capacity on paper, but four generating units were unavailable. That reduced dependable conventional capacity to roughly 100 MW at a time when electricity demand on particularly warm days could climb to around 140 MW.
Wind generation and battery storage helped bridge some of that gap, but neither could completely replace the missing engines. Curaçao has approximately 70 MW of installed wind capacity, yet Aqualectra warned that actual wind production can fall below 10 MW when conditions are unfavorable. On August 15, projected evening demand approached 139 MW while conventional capacity stood at roughly 98 MW, forcing the utility to prepare controlled interruptions.
Rotating outages subsequently affected neighborhoods across the island, and Aqualectra described the electricity system as vulnerable while repairs continued. One generating unit had returned to service by August 24, easing the immediate shortage, but the utility has said full stability depends on restoring additional machinery and adding new generation.
The deeper problem is not simply four broken machines. Electricity demand on Curaçao has grown faster than the expansion of dependable generation. Aqualectra's new Salu Power Plant is expected to add about 38 to 40 MW of capacity, but the project, originally expected earlier, is now scheduled to begin producing electricity toward the end of 2026.
For St. Maarten readers, there is another notable connection. Curaçao and St. Maarten both rely heavily on Wärtsilä medium-speed reciprocating engines, and both have used engines capable of operating on heavy fuel oil. Aqualectra's 39 MW plant commissioned under an earlier expansion consists of four Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines that were initially designed to run on heavy fuel oil. GEBE's Cay Bay plant has also operated Wärtsilä engines for decades, and an earlier expansion allowed the plant to operate entirely on heavy fuel oil. The equipment is not identical, but the basic generation technology and many of the maintenance realities are familiar to both islands.
Anguilla has the engines, but not the spare capacity
Just across the channel from St. Maarten, Anguilla entered the final days of August under a scheduled rotation of electricity cuts after a mechanical problem reduced ANGLEC's generating capacity.
The utility announced outages of approximately two to three hours at a time beginning August 28, covering different sections of the island throughout the day and, if required, overnight. The rotation was expected to continue through September 2 while technicians worked to return unavailable generators to service. ANGLEC also arranged for two additional generating units, including one from Puerto Rico, to strengthen available capacity.
Anguilla shares another connection with St. Maarten: ANGLEC also operates Wärtsilä engines at its Corito Power Station. Wärtsilä technicians have worked with ANGLEC for years, including helping restore generation after Hurricane Irma. However, there is an important difference in fuel. Anguilla's generating system has historically relied on No. 2 diesel rather than the heavy fuel oil associated with much of GEBE's conventional generation. Government documentation has described ANGLEC as primarily dependent on diesel generation, while earlier technical studies identified its Wärtsilä and other generating units as diesel-fueled.
That distinction does not remove the common vulnerability. Both islands depend on relatively small groups of large reciprocating engines. When several are undergoing maintenance or a major unit fails unexpectedly, the available reserve can disappear quickly.
The Bahamas was pushed to the edge
The Bahamas experienced perhaps the strongest example this summer of heat and electricity demand overwhelming parts of an island network.
Bahamas Power & Light said New Providence had already exceeded its entire 2025 maximum demand twice, first in May and again in June, even though the system traditionally reaches its annual peak around September. BPL attributed much of the increase to prolonged high temperatures.
By August, utility officials were warning that circuits were overloaded and transformers were operating near their limits. Government agencies and large businesses were even asked to switch to backup generators during peak periods to reduce demand on the public system.
The consequences were significant. An underground cable fault contributed to a transformer failure at Blue Hills on July 30, producing an island-wide blackout that lasted seven hours or more in some communities. Parts of western New Providence then endured five consecutive days of outages, while BPL acknowledged that high demand, equipment failures and an aging network had stretched contingency measures.
Puerto Rico's reserve almost disappears
Puerto Rico spent much of July and August operating with another version of the same problem: large electricity demand sitting uncomfortably close to available generation.
Peak demand reached 3,234 MW on August 18, the highest level of the year at that point. Available generation was estimated at between 3,400 MW and 3,500 MW, meaning that at the lower end of that range only about 166 MW separated maximum demand from available capacity. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority acknowledged that greater reserve margins were needed.
When individual generating units failed, the effects were immediate. Puerto Rico experienced repeated load shedding during August because generation was insufficient, including outages after units at Palo Seco and other plants went offline. At one stage, industry reporting indicated that nearly 1,500 MW of existing generation was unavailable because units were out of service or undergoing repairs.
Jamaica shows where demand is heading
Jamaica has not experienced the same level of generation crisis, but its numbers provide another warning about the direction of electricity demand.
Jamaica Public Service reported that peak demand reached 676.9 MW on July 1, its highest level of 2026 at that point. JPS confirmed a relationship between higher temperatures and increased electricity consumption and noted that June through August normally represents Jamaica's heaviest demand period.
That matters because a grid does not have to be failing for heat to create additional risk. Every extra megawatt consumed reduces the space available to deal with an unexpected engine failure, scheduled overhaul or transmission problem.
The Virgin Islands show another vulnerability
The U.S. Virgin Islands experienced its own summer disruptions. On August 11, St. Thomas and St. John lost electricity after an emergency shutdown at the propane terminal interrupted fuel supply to the Randolph Harley Power Plant. The problem was not a lack of fuel inventory, but the loss of the infrastructure needed to deliver that fuel to generating units.
A month earlier, two generating units at the same plant unexpectedly went offline while WAPA was restoring electricity following scheduled work, producing another district-wide outage. The incidents illustrate how small island systems remain vulnerable not only to engine failures but also to problems involving fuel delivery, transmission and supporting infrastructure.
Aruba chose to add breathing room
Aruba provides a useful contrast. Rather than entering this summer with the same shrinking reserve, WEB Aruba commissioned two new Wärtsilä engines in August as part of its RECIP-3 expansion.
The AWG 115 million project increased firm RECIP generation capacity from 194 MW to 230 MW, giving the island another 36 MW of dependable generating capacity. The Aruba government specifically linked the investment to increasing electricity demand and the need for greater energy security.
The timing is difficult to ignore when viewed alongside Curaçao, Anguilla, The Bahamas and Puerto Rico. The difference between an electricity system that absorbs a mechanical failure and one that begins disconnecting customers often comes down to how much dependable capacity remains after the biggest available generator is removed from the equation.
