Minister of BUILT Veronica Dorsette-Hector confirmed in Parliament on Monday that a specialist team conducted an on-site diagnostic inspection in early July, uncovering significant faults within the system. “Twelve of the thirteen battery control unit fuses had blown, and several battery racks were reporting a state of charge below zero,” she said. Replacement parts are now being sourced, and a follow-up visit is planned to complete the restoration.
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), commissioned in 2021, was designed to stabilise Montserrat’s fragile power grid and enable greater integration of renewable energy, particularly solar. However, it has been offline since late 2022 due to technical failures and the lack of specialist support on-island.
Minister Dorsette-Hector said the restoration is “a critical milestone” in Montserrat’s green energy transition. “We do receive up to 950 kilowatts into the grid on good days. But without the BESS to manage curtailment automatically, this has to be done manually by MUL’s technical staff, limiting how much solar energy we can harness,” she explained.
The timing of the repair work could not be more urgent. Montserrat’s aging distribution infrastructure has been under severe stress over the last year, with repeated blackouts affecting homes, public services, and businesses. Homes and businesses in Isles Bay were severely impacted over the last week.
Minister Dorsette-Hector acknowledged these challenges, noting that the Ministry of BUILT, along with Montserrat Utilities Ltd. (MUL), is actively working on broader infrastructure upgrades.
The repairs to the BESS form part of the UK-funded £5.9 million Green Energy Transition Programme announced by UK Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy in May 2025. The initiative includes investment in grid upgrades, generation, and battery storage to reduce Montserrat’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.
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