The Tribune

BY FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Grid Company’s(BGC) top executive yesterday conceded the New Providence grid operator is suffering from shortages of staff and specialist skills, as he asserted: “Local talent is somewhat limited.”

Daniel McKenzie, Bahamas Grid’s chief executive, added that the company is in the final stages of completing the transfer of Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) transmission and distribution (T&D) assets to its own balance sheet and signalled that it will pursue a strategic partner to help recruit additional specialists from overseas.

In particular, he cited a shortage of skilled underground cable workers while asserting that the legal and administrative transfer of New Providence’s grid assets from BPL remains ongoing because of the complexity involved in moving infrastructure that has been owned by one entity for decades.

"We're actively in the process of completing that process," said Mr McKenzie. "It's a very complicated process. When assets have been owned by one entity for several decades, there's a whole process that needs to be followed in order to finalise it."

Speaking at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly media briefing, Mr McKenzie also sought to clarify the respective roles previously played by Island Grid and Pike Electrical as questions continue over the future of the companies' involvement in New Providence's electricity network.

"Island Grid was the managing entity in BGC. They helped to stand up BGC as a company," he said. "The plan has always been to transition from Island Grid to a Bahamian-led and operated company. That's where Mr Holder [chief operating officer] and I step in."

He added: "Pike provided sub-contracting services in terms of the construction work on the grid. That's why you saw their trucks around the system. That doesn't impact anything. We had a good transition from Island Grid to me and my team, and we are now effectively managing and building on the foundation they put in place."

While confirming that BGC intends to continue developing Bahamian talent, Mr McKenzie acknowledged the company will need outside expertise as it accelerates repairs and upgrades to the electricity network.

"It's part of the long-term strategy," he said. "We need to ramp up our local talent, skills and capability, but we're going to augment that with contracted forces.

"From what we're seeing right now, to be honest with you, we probably need to go overseas and get some more folks because we do want to expedite the repairs and the work that needs to be done. Local talent is somewhat limited. It's a niche market."

The BGC chief said the most pressing need is for specialist underground cable joiners, also known as splicers. "What's really needed to address those faults are what we call joiners, some of them also referred to as splicers. That's a limited skill set internally to BGC," Mr McKenzie said.

"We're working closely with BPL to get more of those resources. I have also reached out to contacts that I have overseas who are on stand-by, and I'm probably going to be pushing that button some time this week to get them to come over and help quickly reduce that backlog."

Mr McKenzie said BGC is targeting a workforce of between 160 and 180 employees, but currently has about 100 staff. "Not all 100 are dedicated to line work," he said.

"I would say approximately 60 to 80 people are focused on actual line work, combined with contracted resources. By doing it that way, we can ramp up as we onboard and train more BGC line workers, and then reduce our reliance on contracted forces."

Mr McKenzie added that staffing levels are not preventing the company from responding to faults because BGC can draw on contractors and assistance from BPL when required. However, plans for BPL’s 120 New Providence-based transmission and distribution staff to switch to BGC have not materialised as few wanted to make the move for fear of losing their union benefits.

Mr McKenzie also pushed back against suggestions that Pike's departure has contributed to recent reliability problems. "What the Bahamian public does not realise, and I hear it coming from the media as well, is, 'Pike is gone'," he said.

"You're in the hands of a very competent team. Between Mr Holder and me, we have almost 50 years of experience between us. They did a good foundation of work, but there's a lot more for us to do, and we have the team to do it."

The BGC chief argued that public perception overlooks the impact of the network's age and The Bahamas' operating environment. "Last year Pike was here driving around. This year the system is one year older," Mr McKenzie said.

"What we don't fully appreciate is that the environment in The Bahamas is rough on an electrical system. We have high salinity in the air, high humidity and a high water table. All those things wreak havoc on equipment."