The Anguilla Electricity Company Ltd. (ANGLEC) remains committed to serving you better. To ensure it provides a consistent quality of electricity, the ANGLEC teams conduct weekly maintenance on lines and equipment by upgrading and replacing as necessary. Another critical area in providing quality service is the tree-trimming and line-clearing exercises conducted across the island each year. These exercises were recently enhanced by the addition of a state-of-the-art tree-trimming truck and chipper to its fleet. Safety is our top priority. ANGLEC’s tree-trimming truck incorporates the latest industry safety features including insulating lower and upper booms to easily reach difficult areas and tackle even the toughest tree care applications. To ensure the teams operate safely, the chipper comes with Altec’s (the truck and chipper’s manufacturer) patented Panic Bar that manually stops movement of the feed rollers. In addition to the technical safety considerations, ANGLEC arranged for on-island hands-on training conducted by Altec’s qualified technicians.
The tree-trimming trucks uniquely designed over-the-center aerial boom can reach heights up to 60 feet. This boom will allow the truck to be used not only for tree trimming, but also routine maintenance of the transmission line. This dual functionality adds greater efficiencies in its use and improves the level of service in numerous ways.
It is no secret that ANGLEC has aggressively expanded its community initiatives over the past few years. Mr. David Gumbs, CEO of ANGLEC, has put special emphasis on community involvement and sponsorship of community programs. ANGLEC’s most recent initiatives included the sponsorship of the Anguilla Summer Festival Calypso Show, Anguilla Cancer Society’s Prostate Cancer Initiative, the Primary School Netball Competition, the Primary School Test of Standards Awards, and the Company’s Horizon’s Scholarship Program. This is in addition to numerous sports clubs, cultural events and social and youth programs.
It is therefore with great excitement that ANGLEC launches its most recent community initiative with the Government of Anguilla’s Department of Agriculture. This initiative will provide farmers in Anguilla with over 50 tons of nutrient rich mulch each year. The mulch is a byproduct of ANGLEC’s investment in the tree-trimming equipment discussed earlier. The mulch will assist farmers to conserve moisture and improve the fertility and health of the soil. The healthier soil will improve volume of produce and improve the quality locally grown produce.
The Altec 2015 freightliner tree-trimming truck and the CFD1217 chipper were commissioned in May 2015. As planned, ANGLEC made its first donation of mulch to the Agriculture Department. This delivery was accepted with great excitement and, as best put by Mr. Vanterpool, Director of the Department of Agriculture “this is the best thing to happen to the Department in a long time”. Mr. Vanterpool and Mr. Trenton Roach (Horticulturist) were both on-hand for the first delivery.
In his remarks at the first delivery of mulch, Mr. David Gumbs commented on the year-long process leading up to the first revamp exercise and first delivery. The process included several months of planning and customization of the truck and chipper. Mr. Gumbs noted that whilst the benefit to ANGLEC would be reduction in time and resources used in clearing trees and an improvement in stability of service, the benefits the byproduct of the exercise could bring to the farmers of Anguilla, were commendable.
The partnership with the Department of Agriculture would ensure that farmers firstly, and then the general public, would put the regular donations of mulch to good use, Mr. Roach said. Mr. Gumbs went on to thank members of the Transmission and Distribution and Garage Departments at ANGLEC for their continued hard work and commitment to ANGLEC, and the people of Anguilla, many of whom were on hand for the first delivery. He took the time to commend them for their efforts and continuous hard work that often go unseen by the general public. Other members of the Agriculture Department’s team were also on hand and shared the elation and appreciation of ANGLEC’s contribution.
– Contributed
