The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

POWER was restored to Grand Cay early Tuesday after residents endured seven days without electricity and running water, leaving some households spending as much as $80 to $90 a day on fuel for generators as telephone service to the island remained down.

The prolonged outage affected an estimated 500 to 600 residents and came after months of what one resident described as frequent load shedding and unscheduled interruptions.

Craig Cephas, a fisherman and Grand Cay resident, told The Tribune electricity returned at about 4am Tuesday, bringing relief to a community that had been without power since last week.

“The phones are still down. There’s no phone service,” he said.

Mr Cephas was able to speak with The Tribune from his home using a Starlink internet connection.

He said residents had also been without running water during the seven-day power outage.

“We didn’t have no power or water for seven days,” he said.

Mr Cephas said the conditions were particularly difficult for people returning from work who could neither properly shower nor cool their homes.

Those with generators faced substantial additional costs.

“I was buying gasoline every day, spending $80 to $90 bucks on gasoline every day,” he said.

Mr Cephas said he generally operated his portable generator at night and argued that Bahamas Power and Light should provide some financial relief to residents who were forced to pay for fuel during the outage.

“So, I think they ought to cut everybody’s bill in half. Or tell everybody, ‘Y’all have your receipts for the fuel you paid for, and we’ll take it off your bill.’ I mean, they ought to do something,” he said.

Mr Cephas said residents had already been experiencing frequent load shedding and unscheduled outages in the months before the seven-day disruption.

He said electricity was routinely cut at about 7pm and restored around midnight or 1am, while other unscheduled outages lasted between one and three hours.

Mr Cephas questioned how electricity bills could remain high while residents were repeatedly without power.

“If the power is off most of the time, how everybody’s bills double and triple?” he asked.

Mr Cephas said BPL should consider reducing residents’ bills or giving them credits for fuel expenses incurred during prolonged outages.

“That’s the main thing. That’s what I’m waiting to find out right now,” he said when asked whether residents had been told they would receive any relief on their electricity bills.

Grand Cay has a significant fishing community. Mr Cephas said fishermen were affected by the outage, although many fish buyers had generators that allowed their operations to continue.

While the restoration of electricity ended the week-long power outage, the loss of telephone service continued to hamper communications with the island Tuesday.

Opposition Leader Michael Pintard, meanwhile, criticised the Davis administration over the prolonged outage and questioned whether residents would receive relief for the additional costs they incurred.

“Seven days without power in Grand Cay. No lights, no relief, but that BPL bill is still coming,” he said in a statement issued Monday.

Mr Pintard said families were spending as much as $90 a day on fuel to keep generators running and criticised the frequency of load shedding.

He also targeted Energy and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis over the situation.

“Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis has failed the people of Grand Cay. When will she be held accountable?” he said.