The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ENERGY, Utilities and Aviation Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis said New Providence’s ageing electricity infrastructure does not excuse the hardship residents, businesses and medical facilities suffered during Sunday’s massive power outages, as Bahamas Power and Light’s board ordered a sweeping review of the failure triggered by a lightning strike at the Blue Hills Power Station.

The strike caused an explosion at the station and damaged a critical point between electricity generation and the transmission network, knocking out power across much of New Providence.

Although generation remained available, BPL’s board said the damage prevented electricity from being safely transferred from the power station to the grid, causing the outages.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said BPL’s technical teams worked through Sunday and into the early hours of Monday to restore service and stabilise the system. She said she remained in close contact with BPL’s leadership and technical personnel as restoration efforts continued.

“My immediate priority was to ensure that every available resource was directed toward restoring power safely and as quickly as possible,” she said in a statement yesterday.

She said restoration efforts during a major outage must be matched by stronger public communication.

“I also recognise that, during an event of this scale, restoration must be matched by clear and consistent communication. When residents are without electricity, public information becomes part of the response. I have made clear to BPL that updates during major service disruptions must be faster, clearer, and more regular,” she said.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said Bahamians are entitled to question why the outage had such a wide impact, why the system remains vulnerable and what is being done to strengthen the grid. She said residents and businesses want to know when electricity service will become more reliable.

“These questions deserve answers,” she said.

The minister said the Davis administration has been working to strengthen the energy sector through improvements to generation, transmission, grid stability, renewable energy integration and long-term system resilience. She said the goal is to deliver a more reliable, stable and affordable electricity system for The Bahamas.

She said the electricity system remains under pressure from high demand, extreme heat, severe weather and ageing infrastructure.

“These pressures do not excuse the hardship experienced by the public. They confirm the urgency of the reforms now underway,” she said.

Mrs Coleby-Davis also addressed complaints from customers about damage to appliances and equipment after the outages and the restoration of power. She said she has directed BPL to provide public guidance on how people can report such matters and have them reviewed.

“I thank the engineers, line workers, control room operators, technical staff, and leadership of Bahamas Power and Light, Bahamas Grid Company, and Grand Bahama Power for their work during this difficult period. Many worked long hours under demanding conditions to restore and stabilize the system,” she said.

In a separate statement, BPL’s Board of Directors acknowledged the hardship customers faced and said it directed management to conduct a comprehensive post-incident review.

The board said the review will identify lessons learned and recommend improvements to physical protection systems, operational procedures, restoration strategies, network sectionalising, grid resilience and restoration efforts after major disturbances.

The board described the lightning strike as extraordinary, saying its force caused extensive damage at a critical point in the Blue Hills Power Station.

“Events like this are extremely rare,” the board said. “BPL’s power stations include grounding systems and lightning protection to safeguard critical infrastructure. However, no system can guarantee protection from every extreme natural event, especially one of this magnitude at a critical network point. Although this incident was extraordinary, it presents an opportunity to improve.”