The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

AN ISLAND-WIDE power outage that left Crooked Island in darkness for three days finally ended last night when electricity was restored shortly after 9pm.

Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) confirmed that supply was successfully reconnected last night, bringing relief to residents and visitors who had been struggling without power since late Saturday due to a generator failure.

Residents of Crooked Island expressed mounting frustration as households struggled without electricity, raising questions how the island was left without a functioning backup supply. 

Residents told The Tribune the outage began around 11pm on Saturday, forcing families to scramble to preserve food, secure water, and cope without internet or reliable communication. Power was briefly restored before shutting off again, and had not returned, intensifying concerns about food spoilage and access to basic services.

BPL said the outage was caused by the failure of a generator component. In a press release, the company said 220 customers were affected, and a technical team was working to have a replacement part flown to the island as quickly as possible. A subsequent statement on Sunday evening said round-the-clock restoration efforts had been underway since the outage began but had so far been unsuccessful.

Southern Region regional manager Pedro Marcello said a specific mechanical component was needed to return the power generation unit to service. He said BPL had contacted the authorised Caterpillar dealer in The Bahamas to source the part and had also conducted internal inventory checks across Family Island stations. Mr Marcello said that if the component was located within BPL’s inventory, it would be transported by a technical team travelling to Crooked Island on Monday, along with M&E technicians. The team was expected to arrive by about 3pm, weather and logistics permitting.

Despite those assurances, residents expressed disappointment and uncertainty, questioning how an entire island could be left without electricity and without a reliable backup system. While some said they were relying on small personal generators to power refrigerators, charge phones and provide minimal lighting, others said they had no alternative power source and were left waiting for restoration.

Several residents also questioned how the generator could have failed so soon after its October installation, ahead of Hurricane Melissa, and raised concerns about the lack of redundancy.

“This generator only a month to maybe six to eight weeks old,” long-time resident Timothy Thompson said. “They got two generators that they could fix, as backup, and stop running one generator continuously.”

Mr Thompson said residents who raised concerns were often dismissed, despite suffering losses, including spoiled food, during prolonged outages.

Another long-time resident, Kirkwood McKinney Sr, said the situation exposed long-standing weaknesses in the island’s power generation planning.

“BPL moved into Crooked Island in December of 2007 under the FNM, and when the installation was done, we had two generators,” he said. “How is it from 2007 to now, you have one generator?”

Mr McKinney said the outage had already forced the cancellation of community events and threatened the island’s tourism economy during the holiday period.

“We had to cancel one function that we were supposed to have up on the park, a cultural show,” he said. “We have quite a few tourists on island, and more is coming in today and on Wednesday.”

Other residents said the generator did not operate properly when it was first brought online, alleging that excessive voltage damaged household appliances. Food in refrigerators and freezers was thawing, they said, with particular concern for residents who were off-island and had left homes unattended. Limited water access had also become an issue, with residents who owned small generators assisting neighbours by pumping water where possible.

Sandra Donaldson said the outage was directly affecting tourism, a key source of income for the community.

“It’s island wide. I mean, lots of tourists on the island again,” Ms Donaldson said. “We’re trying to not let it damper our mood because we got all these people to entertain.

“This is our bread and butter here in Andrew Point, especially, you know, we depend on it, on the tours,” she said.

Ms Donaldson also said at least one resort was operating without backup power while hosting guests.

“We have one resort that I think got 15 people there,” she said. “They have no backup generator.”

“Yeah, they are complaining, but luckily, they love it here, and they’re our friends,” she added. “So you know, they’re trying to stick it out.”