By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Power and Light has been “temporarily patching” its troubled equipment but until its rental generators are installed there is “no way to tell” when frequent power outages will end, an official said yesterday.
BPL’s Corporate Communications Manager Arnette Ingraham admitted that “someone dropped the ball” when it came to preparing the site for BPL’s rental generators, but said the company is “hoping” to have them installed by the end of “next week”.
And one week after BPL began daily outage rotations throughout New Providence, she said the corporation is finally in a “safe zone”.
“We have an engine at both Blue Hills and Clifton that have had challenges,” Mrs Ingraham said. “When we have these issues it all seems to happen at one time and the problem is we just don’t have any spare reserve. So if we have a challenge with a machine we cannot take it off line and fix it.
“So what we are doing is temporarily patching and fixing the problem just to get the engines up and running to stop the outages. We have not had maintenance on the machines to the level that we would like and (when) one engine goes off, we get it back on and then two engines go down. That is what has been happening for the past week but we are working on the problem.”
Mrs Ingraham said one major 25 megawatt generator should be back up today, hopefully putting an end, even if just temporarily, to the generation shortage. She also said the plant for the rental generators is in the process of being built.
“Even though they are rental generators you don’t just get them and plug it in,” she explained. “The infrastructure has to be in place and someone dropped the ball and it started later than we would have like, but we are building the plant for the rentals.
“We are very optimistic that by the end of next week we will be using those rental units. We realise the urgency and we are working around the clock because we realise the inconvenience.”
BPL also released a statement yesterday afternoon, saying it did not anticipate power outages Wednesday night. In spite of BPL’s assurances, there were reports of intermittent power cuts in New Providence last night.
“Our teams have been able to complete repairs on two units that were out of service,” BPL’s statement said. “As a result, we do not anticipate having any outage rotations in New Providence this evening (Wednesday). Additionally, BPL plans to complete major repairs on a third unit before next week.
“BPL sincerely apologises for the outages you have experienced and assures each of you that our efforts are concentrated on bringing short and long term reliability solutions in New Providence and Family Islands. Atop our list are plans to have the additional 40 megawatts of rental generation available within a few days.”
On Monday, nearly one month after the first set of rental generators secured for BPL arrived in the country, Bahamas Electrical Workers Union President Paul Maynard told The Tribune that the site for the engines has not been prepared.
In July, BPL CEO Pamela Hill acknowledged that power cuts this year have been more frequent than last year, but said BPL should have had the rental generators by the end of the summer to help with reliability.
For the past seven days customers across New Providence have experienced three to four hour power cuts in some instances as BPL continues to struggle with generation issues.
BPL has been updating customers about the power cuts on its Facebook page.
Comments
John 7 years, 7 months ago
Does The Tribune's headline really reflect what is being said in its article or is it an attempt to incite anger with BPL? The headline states that there is no end in sight for the power outages but the article says that the corporation expects to have the rental generators installed and running by next week. So if the rented generators are not going to help with the frequent power outages what was the purpose of renting them. But the fact of the matter is that as summer draws to an end BPL should have a plan in place to start work and do needed repairs to its main generators since the demand will be less. Consumers can much more tolerate power outages in October/November than they can tolerate in the dead heat of summer.
ohdrap4 7 years, 7 months ago
i was already angry with BPL before the tribune started inciting. lol man all you think about is conspiracy.
TalRussell 7 years, 7 months ago
Comrades! For whatever reasons we had to go foreign to hire the Wake Forest, North Carolina’s corporation that we now have trying their hands at operating Bahamaland’s Power But Still No Damn Light’s Corporation (BPBSNDL) all to hire their Communications Manager Arnett, who’s fast becoming the new "Lady Pot cake" Arnette as the media spokeswoman’s offering the same old ‘we got’s some more used rental power generators on their ways to Clifton excuses' for ya lights being more off than on news-maker over at the American BPBSNDL. God's Promises Are Real but the “Lady Pot cake” Arnette’s, got her work cut out for her in spades, if she is to proclaim victory over the PLP Cabinet’s promises of an all new and improved foreigner operated of BEC, as ‘The Milestone in reform of Bahamaland’s energy sector?
Comrades, likes I say, why even try makes this "Lady Pot cake"Arnette stuff up – when all you have do is read the Tribune, for creativity of the mind.
by TalRussell
banker 7 years, 7 months ago
At least Lady Potcake is slightly more credible than Lady Russell. Don't know about Lady Potcake, but Lady Russell een no lady.
Jess trowin in a stone into a bunch of potcakes and see who howls.
DDK 7 years, 7 months ago
Whatever the corporation chooses to call itself does not alter the fact that it is a shameful disgrace. The shame is that the citizens of the Bahamas have to put up with this over-priced, lousy service. The disgrace is that the Government has the nerve to make excuses about not having this and having to rent that after extorting outrageous VAT on fuel surcharges, on top of ridiculously high service fees from the residents of this country. The biggest shame of all is that Government has been getting away with this deplorable state of affairs for decades
SP 7 years, 7 months ago
............................... How's Your PLP & FNM Working Out For you? ...................................
Sickened 7 years, 7 months ago
Not so good. Awful in fact!
TalRussell 7 years, 7 months ago
by TalRussell
Emac 7 years, 7 months ago
Ha!
banker 7 years, 7 months ago
LOL.
Phillipa Russell huh? Russell. Where have I heard that name before?
by banker
asiseeit 7 years, 7 months ago
THIS IS A DIRECT RESULT OF OUR LAX ATTITUDE TOWARDS CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT! THIS COUNTRY WILL BE JUST LIKE VENEZUELA IN A COUPLE YEARS JUST KEEP THE SAME OLD IMMORAL, UNETHICAL, CORRUPT POLITICIANS IN POWER.
John 7 years, 7 months ago
Ohdrap4: if you are standing if front of the East Hill Post Office and ask someone how far is downtown from here and they answer you "O it is so far from here, you cannot even see it. It is not in sight." Get the picture now? Not conspiracy it's totally misinformation and misleading.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 7 months ago
Correct headline "Praying for winter, when it's not hot we're very reliable". Wasn't it just yesterday that Brave Davis was bragging about cutting rates and reduced outages? Our MPs and cabinet are useless. One or two people run the country according to their desires and everybody else's job is to just smile and bang on the desk.
OMG 7 years, 7 months ago
Fuel costs have never been lower but prices still high. This problem is a typical third world situation where successive governments are like kids who spend all their pocket money on wasteful items rather than plan for the future. This power station equipment should have been upgraded years ago and on a regular basis. The same happens to other government facilities where after initial cost no thought or budgeting is built in to carry out maintenance.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 7 months ago
The PLP is going to suck every bit of life out of PowerSecure before the next election to keep the white man as the boogieman with this huge BPL mess ....... Perry and Brave do not wish to take the sweet fuel deal away from Snake, so LNG or solar are not options right now
John 7 years, 7 months ago
Speaking of Fuel Costs: Gas prices in the USA on average is 21 cents lower than they were this time last year. Gas prices in the Bahamas are 53 centshigher than they were this time last year. So gas prices in the Bahamas are now 74 cents a gallon higher than US prices compared to what they were last year. Even after accounting for VAT which is less than 10 cents, can anyone explain why the great variance in gas prices?
sheeprunner12 7 years, 7 months ago
Who sets the fuel prices in The Bahamas???????? ........ and what is their criteria for doing what he/they do??????? ........... Where is EJ Bowe???
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