The Island's only electricity company has said Government must come to a decision about proposed plant development in order for the company to ensure it can meet the increasing demands of customers.

Belco made the statement after a small fire broke out at it's current plant Monday evening due to over heated engines.

"To ensure that BELCO has adequate redundancy and is able to continue reliably generating and delivering the electricity that the Island requires, given planned engine retirements and Bermuda's continued growth, decisions about plant development must be made by mid-2010, as additional capacity will be required by 2014, a spokeswoman said. "A multiyear process is required to obtain Planning approvals, then order, build, ship, install and commission generating equipment." The spokeswoman said Monday's fire broke out at one of the company's oldest engines, known as a D2 Initially all six of the D2 engines were due to be phased out but the spokeswoman said "A decision was made, however, to invest in extending their lives, given the uncertainties that surround Government approvals for future plant development and moves to introduce large-scale renewable energy sources."

The fire means Belco is now only able to generate 143.5 megawatts of electricity, if all engines are running at maximum capacity. This summer's peak load saw Belco producing 122.3 megawatts of electricity to meet customer demand.

The six older D2 engines have been used frequently this summer because a newer generator broke in June and had to be shipped overseas. The company hopes it will be back in commission by early 2010.

The fire broke out in the engine's turbochargers. Staff worked to isolate the fuel source and contain the fire while the Bermuda Fire Service was called. Together, the fire service and Belco personnel safely shut down the engine and extinguished the fire, the spokeswoman said.