The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

The Cabinet minister responsible for energy yesterday warned that New Providence electricity outages may persist after $130m in vital grid upgrades were delayed by about eight weeks following the earlier fatal shooting of a US contractor.

During a tour of the nearly-completed Big Pond substation, Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of energy, utilities and aviation, acknowledged the frustration caused by recent outages but argued they are a consequence of the extensive transmission and distribution improvements.

“One of the challenges that we’ve experienced over the past few weeks is the inconvenience of the outages at different times in different areas,” she said. “In my Budget communication, I explained that most of the outages are attributed to the upgrades.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis said the project, which has entered its final phase, had originally been scheduled for completion by the end of May, adding: “Unfortunately, the incident that occurred with a Pike employee had us delayed by eight weeks. And because of that, we are now having to complete our upgrades in a time period that also has extreme heat.”

Her comments come just over a week after Opposition MP Kwasi Thompson warned Nassau residents to prepare for “a summer filled with power outages”, arguing the Government’s promised improvements to electricity reliability had yet to materialise.

Mrs Coleby-Davis yesterday suggested interruptions could continue while crews continue working on the new infrastructure. “As we go through the next couple of weeks, there may be some inconveniences, but we want the public to understand that this is really a part of us getting them to a place where it’s very reliable and we’re able to withstand many of the incidents that we’ve seen happen in the past,” she added.

The minister explained that unusually high temperatures arriving earlier than expected have placed additional strain on the system. “So what we’re seeing is some of our circuits had to be offline for the work, the upgrades to be completed,” she said.

“Because of that, we have many of our areas operating where they would normally be with two circuits; they’re operating under one circuit. That can work if it’s in a natural environment. But we have extreme heat, which we would usually see in August, September. We’re seeing some of that on our system May, June.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis said BPL, Bahamas Grid Company and the Government under-estimated the impact of the early summer heat and “didn’t expect it to be as bad”. She stressed that the outages are not being caused by insufficient electricity generation but, rather, by temporary transmission constraints while major infrastructure is tied into the grid.

“What that means is the system has too much power coming at one time,” she said. “It’s like you say in your home, ‘the breaker tripped’.” Mrs Coleby-Davis said the Big Pond project is now about 95 percent complete. She added that the substation is intended to improve reliability. “It’s strengthening our system’s durability and resiliency,” she said.

Christina Alston, BPL’s executive chairman, described the Big Pond facility as one of the country’s most significant transmission investments, noting that it “is a very sophisticated, world-class substation”. She said: “What you all are witnessing right now is quite historic.”

According to Ms Alston, the new facility will serve as a major transmission hub. “If there is an anomaly, lightning, a weather event, what will happen is the switches at this substation will open up and it will redirect power flow,” she said.

Ms Alston said the overall $130m grid investment extends well beyond the substation itself. “It is not just the substation, but it’s also the termination of the lines, the new lines being built,” she said. “There’s a lot of underground work that’s also being built… It is a complete overhaul of the way we generate and transmit electricity on the island.”

Dareo McKenzie, chief executive of Bahamas Grid Company, the entity that owns, operates and maintains New Providence’s energy grid, said the Big Pond facility is one of three transmission substations on New Providence and functions as a central hub for electricity distribution.

“This plays a very critical role in terms of our energy distribution at the transmission level in New Providence,” he said.

Following this week’s Energy Committee meeting, the Ministry of Energy also sought to reassure consumers that while some interruptions may continue over the coming weeks, the upgrades are designed to strengthen the national grid, improve reliability and create a more resilient electricity network capable of supporting growing demand for years to come.

It added: “Significant progress has also been made at Fire Trail Road, where a new transformer has been installed and crews are completing cable installation and commissioning activities. This work is expected to be completed within the next four days. Once energised, the substation will operate with two transformers, increasing capacity, improving load sharing and enhancing reliability for customers served in the area.

“BPL further advised that recent storm activity contributed to outages on several Family Islands. In Cat Island and Andros, generation challenges were experienced. However, corrective actions have already been implemented, including the addition of generation resources and operational adjustments to strengthen system reliability.”