The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

NORTH Guana Cay residents are approaching ten days without electricity after Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) diverted a replacement generator originally intended for the community to Man-O-War Cay.

The development comes as residents have endured around 216 hours without power, with BPL yet to provide a revised restoration window and its dive team still awaiting favourable weather conditions to investigate a subsea cable fault between Matt Lowe’s Cay and mainland Abaco.

In an update yesterday, BPL said technicians conducting final testing on the generation unit at Man-O-War Cay determined that additional time was needed to complete repairs before it could safely supply electricity.

As a result, the replacement generator originally earmarked for Guana Cay will instead be transported to Man-O-War Cay. BPL said it was working to secure a charter to move the equipment, while its team was disassembling the existing unit to make room for the replacement.

Meanwhile, BPL’s dive team is waiting for improved weather conditions before continuing efforts to locate the subsea cable fault between Matt Lowe’s Cay and mainland Abaco.

BPL said an updated restoration window would be provided once available, leaving affected North Guana Cay residents without a confirmed timeline for the restoration of electricity.

The prolonged outage has affected a significant number of residents and personnel associated with Baker’s Bay, according to one North Guana Cay resident, who said about 80 to 90 per cent of the development's leadership team, along with several management personnel and other residents, were also without power.

The resident said the community was approaching its 10th day without electricity and expressed frustration over the length of the disruption and the perceived lack of urgency surrounding restoration efforts.

While acknowledging the challenges involved in repairing the infrastructure, the resident questioned why the difficulties involved in securing specialist assistance have effectively become the responsibility of customers left without electricity.

The prolonged disruption also raises concerns about the vulnerability of businesses and residential communities in the Family Islands when critical electricity infrastructure fails, particularly where alternative supply arrangements are limited.

For businesses dependent on reliable electricity, extended outages can create additional operating expenses through generator use, while potentially disrupting services for residents, employees and visitors.

The resident said the impact was being felt across the community, regardless of whether those affected were Bahamian or foreign residents, adding that the length of the outage and uncertainty surrounding restoration had become particularly difficult.

BPL apologised for the inconvenience and thanked consumers for their patience, stressing its team was working safely and quickly to restore electricity supply.