Island-wide blackout after transformer explosion at Blue Hills Power Station

As of Thursday, July 30, 2026

An electrical fire at the Blue Hills Power Station triggered an island-wide power outage in New Providence early this morning after a suspected underground cable fault caused the explosion of a transformer, according to Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).

In its first update around 4am, BPL said an electrical fire at the station had resulted in the complete loss of power supply across New Providence.

The company later said preliminary investigations indicate that a suspected underground cable fault caused the explosion of a 15MVA transformer at the Blue Hills Power Station, leading to the island-wide outage.

The fire was safely extinguished and repair crews began working to restore service, although BPL initially said there was no estimated timeline for the return of electricity.

By 6am, the company reported that restoration efforts were underway, with communities being brought back online in stages to ensure the safety and stability of the electricity grid.

At 6.30am, BPL said power had been restored to Bonita Bay, SC McPherson, Winton 1 and 2, Harold Road, and portions of Yellow Elder and Stapleton Gardens.

A short time later, the company announced that electricity had also been restored to Paradise Island, East Street South, South Beach Estates, Pinewood, Marshall Road, Bamboo Town, Fox Hill Road and portions of Prince Charles.

By 7am, power had also been restored to Gladstone Road, Firetrail Road, portions of Carmichael Road and Sears Road.

In its latest update at 7.18am, BPL said electricity had been restored to approximately 50 percent of consumers on New Providence.

The company said teams remain on the ground working to restore power to the remaining customers as safely and quickly as possible.

Customers in areas reported as restored who are still without electricity are being asked to contact BPL's 24-hour call centre at 225-5275 to report their outage.

BPL has apologised for the disruption and thanked consumers for their patience as restoration efforts continue.

Sickened 1 week, 1 day ago

Fred Mitchell telling Duane and I guess anyone who ever served in government to keep their mouths shut about the power situation. This is what progress looks like under the PLP. 5 years in power and things have gotten worse. Imagine the chaos in another 5 years.

Dawes 1 week, 1 day ago

Time for them to promise to fix it yet again. And then next summer it will be just as bad. Our companies are run by incompetent people who have gotten there via political friends rather then knowledge. Time to get rid of them and let those who know what they are doing take over. If that happens to be foreigners so be it.

AnObserver 1 week, 1 day ago

The average three bedroom house in North America uses about 30kwh of electricity per day. Charging an electric car takes 50kwh. Do the math. We have introduced a massive additional load on to an already struggling "grid". Substantial taxes need to be levied on the import of these rolling disasters to pay for the required infrastructure to support them.

quavaduff 1 week, 1 day ago

Those 50 kwh will get the EV driver 250 miles of travel or about a week of travel on New Providence ... better yet the EV driver needs to install solar panels and gain total independence from the bpl grid.

bahamianson 1 week, 1 day ago

Instead of 350 million on a new hospital, put that money to upgrade BEC.

TalRussell 1 week, 1 day ago

Ought this not to be putting it mildly?
MP Pia Glover-Rolle of Golden Gates penned letter No. 2, demanding answers about the "island-wide blackout of all electricity," reviving a feud or tension between her and Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis. -- Yeah?

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