POWER ELECTRICS GENERATORS USED IN PAKISTANI EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck South Asia on October 8 is known to have caused around 80,000 deaths and devastation that could take more than 10 years to repair. Tens of thousands of people were injured at quake's core, which struck Pakistani administered Kashmir, close to capital of Muzaffarabad, and around three million have been left homeless.

Last month, a team of British Telecom engineers went out to Pakistan to help restore the devastated communications network. Around a dozen workers were sent to the Kashmir to install satellite dishes in four remote areas to allow relief groups, including the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), to coordinate their efforts and local people to contact their relatives. The four stations are located in the foothills of the Himalayas, one in Rawalpindi, which is the main communications centre for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, so are only accessible by helicopter. This means there is no source of power, and that is where Power Electrics comes in. The Bristol-based firm is one of the UK's leading suppliers of generating systems, and is providing generators and invertors to support the four stations.

Power Electrics was approached by BT after the two formed a successful partnership last Christmas following the Asian Tsunami disaster. Back then, BT staff were sent to Indonesia to build a satellite station and set up an emergency operations room providing communications for rescue workers and aid teams, and Power Electrics provided the power. So when the earthquake hit south Asia last month, the two companies created a similar set up. BT is once again providing communications support to the DEC, and Power Electrics’ is responsible for providing the vital source of power.

Power Electrics Sales Manager Mike Gabriel explains: "BT asked for our support in the form of providing generators after the Tsunami last December, so came to us again when they knew they would need similar assistance in Pakistan. They have set up four satellite stations, and we have sent a brand new generator and inverter to each one. We have had to work quite differently from when we set up power systems after the Tsunami. Back then, there was a steady supply of fuel, so we only needed to provide generators, but in the quake zone, fuel is at a premium, so we needed to provide a system of power which would use the minimum amount of diesel fuel and still give a 24 hour supply.

"Running an emergency telephone satellite station requires about 5 amps of current, so to provide power to drive the station, a 2kw generator needs to run continuously 24 hours a day. We could see that this could create problems of its own in servicing and mechanical breakdown problems, so we decided to build a large battery bank of 36, 12 volt gel cell batteries of 1000 ampere hours in a series parallel formation. This will supply the station for up to 48 hours without any supplementary supply, and in complete silence."

Due to the way Power Electrics has set up the power systems, the only instance in which the generators will have to kick in is if the battery voltage supplying the inverter drops below a pre determined level, and even then, it will only need to run for as long as it takes to return the batteries to their original state.

Much like when Power Electrics provided generators to cope with the aftermath of the Tsunami, the firm has managed to get the equipment ready in a matter of a few weeks. Mike continued: "We got the call last Friday, by the following week we were testing the generators, and within less than 2 weeks, the equipment had been sent out to the disaster zone - it was vital that we got the generators to the scene as quickly as possible. Power Electrics operates a 24 hour 7 day dedicated helpline to its customers to respond to situations like this, and in order to offer this all hours cover, our systems must work every time. This takes major investment in our products and services and personal commitment from all our staff."

BT spokesman Mike Preedy said: "We have dealt with Power Electrics in the past, both in the UK and abroad, and have always been very happy with them, which is why we have chosen to use their generators again for this project."