The Tribune

By NEILL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama Power Company’s former owner says it incurred a $15m gross loss on selling 100 percent ownership of the utility to the Government.

Emera, the Canadian utility giant, revealed in its just released earnings report for the 2026 second quarter that it suffered a net $13.57m loss in exiting Grand Bahama’s monopoly power provider in a deal that closed on The Bahamas’ general election date of May 12, 2026. As a result, of the sale GB Power’s earnings contribution was $5m lower than the same period in 2025 as measured in US dollars.

Reporting its figures in Canadian dollars, the energy provider affirmed: “On May 12, 2026, Emera completed the sale of GB Power. A loss on sale of $21m after transaction costs ($19m, after tax and transaction costs, or $0.06 per common share) was recorded. As a result of the sale, earnings contributions from GB Power were $7m lower in the 2026 second quarter and year-to-date 2026 compared to the same periods in 2025.”

Scott Balfour, Emera’s chief executive, in a conference call with analysts said the GB Power sale and other disposals will enable it to “focus on high growth core areas” of its business.

Confirming that Emera’s Grand Bahama exit closed on May 12, he added: “Combined with the approved sale of New Mexico Gas, these transactions represent important steps in executing our strategy. These strategic actions are enhancing financial flexibility, sharpening our focus on our core regulated utility companies, and supporting continued investment in the higher value and growth opportunities across our portfolio.”

Parliament earlier this year approved the guarantee of $280m worth of borrowings to finance the Government’s GB Power’s purchase and working capital for the utility. Some $200m from a syndicated loan facility arranged by Standard Chartered was to be assigned to the former purpose, with the $80m balance supplied by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for working capital.

The Government has yet to disclose its “game plan”, and the commercial and economic rationale, for acquiring GB Power and adding more than a quarter-of-a-billion dollars to The Bahamas’ $12bn-plus national debt other than implying that Grand Bahama businesses and households will see a reduction in energy bills and costs following the acquisition. It has also yet to show how its valuation of GB Power was derived, given that $200m of the $280m has been earmarked for covering purchase costs.

Emera’s financials for the 12 months to year-end 2025 show that GB Power generated a $10m Canadian dollar contribution to the utility giant’s “consolidated adjusted net income” for the period - a figure that was slightly down on the prior year’s $11m. Using the current exchange rate, that $10m Canadian dollars translates into about US $7.3m.

Those profits were generated from $162m Canadian dollars worth of revenue, which represented a 16.5 percent year-over-year increase compared to 2024’s $139m Canadian dollar top-line. The increase is likely due to increased economic activity among GB Power’s 20,000-strong customer base, with Carnival’s $600m Celebration Key destination having opened last July. The exchange rate conversion means GB Power generated $118.26m worth of revenues in US dollars last year.

The value of the Grand Bahama-based electricity provider’s physical assets, namely property, plant and equipment, narrowed slightly last year from $371m Canadian dollars at year-end 2024 to $361m Canadian dollars some 12 months later.

To give an idea of what the Government is potentially acquiring, Emera said: “With $378m US dollars of assets, and approximately 20,000 customers, GB Power owns 98 mega watts (MW) of oil-fired generation, approximately 100 kilometres of transmission facilities and 1,000 kilometres of distribution facilities. GB Power’s approved regulatory return on rate base is 8.52 per cent.”