The Tribune

BY Neil Hartnell AND FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporters

BAHAMIAN attorneys yesterday questioned whether the courts will now have to be independent of Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) grid as well as the Government after repeated energy outages since last Friday finally forced the Supreme Court’s closure.

Paul Moss, an attorney who heads Dominion Management Services, a financial services provider, told Tribune Business that the enforced closure was “really a blow to the judiciary” and administration of justice, as well as Bahamians’ rights to access and seek legal redress, while describing the country’s energy supply as “a disaster” and “a crisis”.

His concerns were echoed by Khalil Parker KC, the Bahamas Bar Association president, who yesterday demanded “urgent intervention” by BPL and the authorities to rectify “the unacceptable state of affairs” that disrupted the functioning of a judicial system of “paramount constitutional importance”.

Asserting that the repeated power outages, which began on Friday and ultimately led to yesterday’s Supreme Court shut-down, have “materially disrupted the administration of justice” and “orderly discharge of court and judicial business, Mr Parker warned that it will further setback and delay any cases that were due to be heard yesterday while placing Bahamian rights in “jeopardy”.

Mr Parker, adding that the Bar Association “decries in the strongest terms” the failure by BPL and the authorities to properly communicate what was happening, said: “The Bahamas Bar Association is deeply concerned about the persistent power outages that have, over the past several days, adversely impacted the courts, resulting in the closure of critical judicial facilities and materially disrupting the administration of justice.

“Matters have been adjourned, litigants and witnesses have been turned away, and the orderly discharge of the business of the courts has been compromised. The judiciary is a co-equal branch of government under our Constitution. Its stable operation, and its access to the resources necessary to function without interruption, is not a matter of executive or administrative convenience; it is a matter of paramount constitutional importance.

“When the doors of the courts cannot open, the rights of citizens to be heard, to have their liberty preserved or vindicated, and to have their disputes resolved in a timely manner are placed in jeopardy.”

Mr Parker asserted that BPL’s failure to communicate what was happening “denied the judiciary the ability to put appropriate remedial and contingency plans in place, and has left court users, members of the profession and the wider public without the clear and timely information to which they are entitled. This is unacceptable.

“We call for an urgent intervention,” the Bar president added, urging “transparency and accountability” through BPL explaining publicly what has occurred and providing “the requisite assurances” that the outages will not continue. “The bench, the Bar, and the public are entitled to nothing less,” Mr Parker said.

The Supreme Court closure occurred after the constant BPL outages since Friday eventually damaged its back-up generators, with fuel supplies also running low as these were kept running through the weekend. While refuelled on Monday, one of the main generators was damaged through being forced to run continuously, resulting in its failure and shut down for repairs.

Mr Moss warned that yesterday’s enforced Supreme Court closure will further impact already-significant case backlogs in the Bahamian judicial system given that matters are often scheduled up to six to 12 months in advance.

“We know there are backlogs going back years,” he told Tribune Business. “Cases that have court dates right now will be in 2027, 2028. The delay just proves to be catastrophic. We have [an energy] crisis on our hands, and we have to mitigate what is going on with it. It’s a disaster what’s going on right now.”

Describing the Supreme Court closure as “incredible”, Mr Moss added: “It speaks to really being totally independent, which means being independent of the grid. I’m not sure how practical that is. It’s really a blow to the judiciary that way. There are some cases that are being heard right now that will have been in the pipeline for several years. It’s a delay that I’m not sure they are going to get back.”

He said that cases scheduled to be heard yesterday, and which had to be postponed, may not be able to be heard today or in the near future as witnesses, for example, may be due to leave The Bahamas and not be back for some time.

Mr Moss, adding that BPL’s outages are just as impactful for the legal profession as they are for the Bahamian public, added: “It’s a national crisis, and we have to determine how to deal with it. We have one more month left of this summer heat, so I am not sure what they are going to do about it, but it’s absolutely essential and critical right now. It’s a terrible situation. It’s a crisis, what we have.”

BPL yesterday blamed an outage caused by a cable fault near Rawson Square for forcing the Supreme Court to close early. In a notice, the court advised individuals with scheduled matters to report to their respective courts today to obtain new court dates.

“The public is hereby notified that the offices of the Supreme Court, Nassau, Bahamas, will close with immediate effect today, 11 August, 2026, due to power outages,” the court’s notice stated.

“The Supreme Court will reopen tomorrow, 12 August, 2026, at 9am. Persons with matters scheduled for court are asked to report tomorrow to their respective court to obtain new adjourned dates. The court regrets any inconvenience caused, and appreciates the public’s cooperation and understanding in this matter.”

Meanwhile, another round of BPL power cuts swept across western New Providence last night as the utility resorted to rotational load shedding amid increased demand.

BPL yesterday announced that it would begin a rotational power supply schedule at 3pm for several western New Providence communities. The company said the power cuts were due to “increased demand” on the system, with residents placed on three-hour rotating intervals.

“Due to an increased demand, a rotational power supply schedule will be initiated beginning at 3pm,” BPL said. The initial load-shedding exercise was projected to be completed at 9pm, but the utility later advised that additional communities would be included in the rotation, with those interruptions expected to conclude at 11pm.