The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

GROWING numbers of Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) customers yesterday challenged the sharp increase in their July electricity bills as they endure increasingly unreliable service that is causing outages.

Frustration intensified following the release of a BPL video aimed at helping customers better understand their light bills. While the utility sought to explain how charges are calculated, many customers argued it failed to address what they see as the central issue - significantly higher bills during a period of prolonged and recurring outages.

The video was distributed through BPL’s WhatsApp channels yesterday, but was initially posted on Instagram on May 30, 2025. The video was joined with a message that said: “Many of us are using more electricity to stay cool this summer. Take a few moments to better understand your electricity bill and the information it provides.” 

It explained that the first 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity are free, after which customers are charged a fixed rate from 201 to 800 kWh and a higher rate for usage above 800 kWh.

It also outlines the monthly fuel charge, which fluctuates with global fuel prices, and highlighted the recently-introduced Equity Rate Adjustment, which BPL says is intended to fund long-term system upgrades and reduce future fuel costs. VAT is also applied to both energy and fuel charges on bills above $400. The utility concludes the video by encouraging customers to better understand their bills and identify opportunities to reduce electricity consumption.

However, for many consumers, the explanation has done little to ease mounting frustration. Eleuthera resident Nahla Sands said paying her latest electricity bill has become increasingly difficult to accept given what she describes as deteriorating service.

“I’m sitting here right now looking at my money that I have to give them, and I really don’t want to give it to them,” she said. “If I had decent service, and that’s what it was, sure. But knowing the problems that we have, and I really have to go and give them my hard-earned money, no, that’s not sitting right with me.”

Eleuthera is one of several Family Islands that consistently endures unreliable power. Ms Sands noted an outage as recent as yesterday.  “It was off today,” she said.  It was off about an hour. I ended up going outside, so I really don’t even know when it came back on because I was about to go groom my dog and it went off. I’m like, this is insane.”

She questioned how bills can continue rising while customers are receiving less electricity.

“It’s just unfair and ridiculous,” she said. “Year after year after year, they always talk about extra power usage, and they add, but I know they just swinging us. They just use these months as an excuse because it’s impossible for the power to be off and the bills are higher. How does that make sense?”

Reacting to BPL’s explanatory video, Ms Sands said it failed to answer customers’ concerns. “Nothing that they say makes sense,” she added. “It doesn’t add up. It just doesn’t make any sense, the way they try to justify these things.”

She said her monthly bill, which typically ranges between $200 and $300, recently jumped to $626. “I’m a fair person,” she said. “I believe in giving people their money. I want people to give me my money if I work for it. But they just have us for fools. It’s like we’re supposed to accept it, and it’s totally unfair to us.”

Ms Sands also said residents continue to experience the same problems despite repeated promises that service would improve. “They keep saying there’s going to be changes,” she said. “About two years ago… they had these things in place and it’s going to get better. This is about to be the third September, and me going through it worse than we were.”

Beyond higher bills, Ms Sands said businesses are also paying the price for the unreliable electricity supply. “I had somebody call me yesterday… she cooks,” Ms Sands said. “All of her deep fryers were blown. She said about two months ago she bought a new fridge. The fridge only worked for two months. They blew that.”

According to Ms Sands, households are not significantly changing their consumption habits. “You’re not doing anything different,” she said. “You’re running the AC a little longer than usual, but that’s probably it. You’re cooking the same, using the same weekly washing, you’re using your light, your fan, the same amount of time. So how? I don’t get it.”

She added that while public outrage tends to spike after major outages, sustained pressure for change has been lacking. “I feel like if we were to collectively come together as a people consistently, they might do better,” Ms Sands said. “But we run on for a little while, and the power stays on for about three days consistently, and then it’s a little bit of quiet. Then there goes power again, and everybody is in an uproar again. But it doesn’t change.”

Similar complaints have surfaced across social media. One user shared a month-by-month comparison showing electricity bills ranging between roughly $100 and $200 from October through June, before jumping to $507.85 on a bill dated June 30, 2026.

The post attracted a number of comments from customers reporting similar experiences. “I haven’t done anything different in my house,” one commenter under the name Carrol Laing wrote.

“Air conditioner is set at 72, numerous power cuts some times for up to four hours daily, yet I received a bill… of $550 for the month of June. I guess it’s called progress.” 

Another, Cheryl Lowe, said: “No way at all. More power outages and a huge increase in the bill. Make it make sense.” Rachel Miller added: “My power was off from last night 11pm and it’s currently 8.38am and the power is still off!. A shame and a disgrace.”

Another customer, Alonzo A. Austin, summed up the sentiment shared by many, writing: “Me too. This bill is outrageous.”