The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY one-third of New Providence’s residential power supply was disconnected Wednesday night after an engine malfunctioned at the Baillou Hills Power Station, Bahamas Electricity Executive Chairman Leslie Miller said yesterday.

According to Mr Miller, several areas across the island experienced a brief power outage for around 20 minutes to an hour when engine four at the Baillou Hills station tripped offline.

Mr Miller said it took technicians between 30 minutes to one hour to repair that engine.

Some of the affected areas were Palmdale, Camperdown, Prince Charles Drive, Pinewood Gardens, Treasure Cove, Mount Vernon, Chippingham and South Beach, among others.

Mr Miller said: “Engine number four went down at the Baillou Hills Power Station ... so it caused a massive power outage. Luckily the good work of the guys ensured it wasn’t for a long, drawn out amount of time.”

Last month, Mr Miller warned residents across New Providence to expect load shedding as BEC grappled with power generation issues.

At the time, Mr Miller said while the corporation had installed 40 extra megawatts of power this did not prove to be enough to sustain the island.

He said BEC’s board of directors recommended to management that 60 megawatts of power be installed, but Mr Miller said management refused to listen to the advice because “everyone on the board is on their way out”.

He said the shortfall caused power outages island wide.

It is hoped that when PowerSecure International takes on the operations of BEC, frequent and widespread power outages will no longer be a problem.

In March, the government began negotiations with PowerSecure over a five-year BEC management contract, amid pledges that the deal will be overseen by “a non-partisan” board.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis has told the House of Assembly that “the major terms” of PowerSecure’s five-year BEC management contract have been agreed.

However, Tribune Business has revealed that the protracted nature of the BEC bidding process and the delayed announcing of the winner, meant there had effectively been no contact between PowerSecure and the government for seven months.

The two parties are now re-starting their relationship, and PowerSecure will likely have to conduct further due diligence and be brought up to speed on everything that has happened at BEC in the interim so it can finalise its business plan, according to Tribune Business.

PowerSecure’s business plan will assume extra importance, as it will have to be approved by the “new” BEC board. It also sets the targets to which the company’s management fees will be linked, determining how much the Carolinas-based firm gets paid.