The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN island-wide blackout plunged New Providence into darkness for hours yesterday morning, driving residents from sweltering homes to beaches, cars and gas stations as the failure disrupted flights, strained businesses and unleashed fresh anger over high electricity bills and unreliable service.

The outage began at about 1.45am and lasted seven hours or longer in some communities, leaving thousands without electricity during the hottest and most vulnerable hours of the night.

Bahamas Power and Light blamed the blackout on the explosion of a 15MVA transformer, which it said was triggered by a suspected underground cable fault.

Videos released by the utility showed equipment engulfed in flames and the extent of the damage before the fire was extinguished.

Across New Providence, residents searched for relief wherever they could find it.

The Tribune drove through several communities after the outage and found people gathered along beaches with blankets and pillows, hoping to catch a cool breeze. Some took early morning swims, while roads remained unusually busy before dawn.

Many residents slept inside their vehicles to escape the heat, with fogged-up windows suggesting they had spent hours there. Groups also gathered at gas stations, sitting in their cars for relief.

Others said they woke drenched in sweat as temperatures remained high.

The blackout triggered a flood of complaints on BPL’s social media pages, with customers condemning the utility’s service while continuing to receive costly electricity bills. Some called for BPL to be privatised, while others demanded competition in the electricity sector.

“Hours after they sent those crazy bills, a night of darkness and sweat…what are we paying for?” one Facebook user wrote.

Another wrote: “It seems completely unfair to be paying hefty bills and melting in the heat. You want the customers to be patient but the scales are tipped in your favour.”

The disruption spread beyond homes.

Fast food restaurants experienced long lines and delayed openings as some employees arrived late.

At Lynden Pindling International Airport, long queues formed at Bahamasair check-in counters after an internet interruption prevented international passengers from checking in.

The disruption caused delays before operations resumed using a backup internet service. The airport operated on generator power for several hours before electricity was fully restored shortly after 8am.

Princess Margaret Hospital experienced little disruption. Officials reported some temperature fluctuations but said patient care was largely unaffected.

Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis acknowledged the frustration caused by the blackout and said teams were immediately deployed to support restoration efforts.

She said a fault in BPL’s high-voltage system at the Blue Hills Primary substation caused the loss of one of its primary transformers.

The failure triggered a flashover, forcing workers to isolate critical equipment to protect employees and the wider electricity network, she said.

Once the system was stabilised and safety procedures were completed, BPL began what Mrs Coleby-Davis described as a black start restoration.

She said a black start is among the most technically demanding operations an electricity provider can undertake, requiring generation units to be brought online in a controlled sequence before substations are progressively energised and electrical load is restored in stages.

Every switching operation had to be coordinated in real time among the control room, generation facilities, substations and field crews, she said.

“While I fully understand the frustration experienced by households and business, I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the dedicated men and women of BPL,” she said.

“Many BPL employees have worked continuously under extremely demanding conditions while mourning the recent loss of a valued colleague.”

FNM leader Michael Pintard blamed the Davis administration for the state of the energy sector, rejecting recent comments by PLP chairman Fred Mitchell that sought to place responsibility on the previous FNM administration.

Mr Pintard said the administration cancelled the Wärtsilä deal, terminated contracts for Station A and took several generators offline.

He said the FNM returned generators to service and stabilised the transmission and distribution network while it was in office.

“What's the bottom line? What accounts for the chaos that we now are experiencing with BPL? The PLP,” he said. “They have had carte blanche—In other words, nobody has been able to interrupt what they have done in terms of privatizing BPL—and yet they have not been able to provide cleaner power, more affordable power, or worst of all, consistent power for the Bahamian people.”

Electricity was restored in phases, returning to some areas by 6.30am and gradually reaching others throughout the day.

However, the crisis did not end with the restoration.

BPL announced temporary rotational outages to maintain the stability of the electricity grid, warning customers in parts of western New Providence to expect scheduled disruptions between 1pm and 1am this morning.

The utility also reported several separate problems across New Providence yesterday but did not disclose the cause of each incident.