The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) executive chairman yesterday warned consumers against expecting renewable energy to automatically lower electricity bills.

Christina Alston, speaking during the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants' (BICA) accountants week seminars, said the utility’s renewable energy commitment was driven primarily by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and improving reliability while balancing the cost of building a more resilient power system. 

She warned that the addition of solar generation will not necessarily translate into lower electricity bills for consumers.  “I don't want anyone to ever walk out of here and say that renewable energy is going to reduce the cost of electricity,” Ms Alston said.

She added that The Bahamas does not have an identified renewable baseload energy source such as geothermal or hydroelectric power, while solar generation remains intermittent and requires other infrastructure to support it.

“The goal is GHG reduction,” said Ms Alston. “I don't think that anyone should think that if you put in renewables, you are going to have a lower energy bill.” She added that BPL was still balancing the cost of integrating renewable energy with the need to maintain reliable electricity service.

“We really are looking at we want - a gold-plated system, but we have silver dollar money, and there has to be a balance between the cost that we're putting into our system and what Bahamians are willing to pay,” the BPL executive chair said. “The goal is to reduce the cost of energy to improve reliability without increasing debt.”

During her presentation, Deepak Bhatnagar, a former BPL executive director and key adviser to Perry Christie, questioned whether information was available showing what consumers' electricity bills will look like once the new energy reform projects were commissioned.

“After all is said and done, is there information available that when all these projects are commissioned and they are in operation, what will the consumer bill be like? How much? How much dollars or cents per kilowatt hour? Do you know that?” Mr Bhatnagar asked.

Ms Alston answered: “No, and let me tell you why.” She explained the cost impact will depend on which technologies come online first, and how much electricity each Bahamian island consumes. BPL has examined power purchase agreement (PPA) prices across the country with the aim of reducing costs below what the utility is currently paying on a kilowatt-hour basis, she said.

However, a reduction on a smaller island will not necessarily have a significant effect on New Providence's overall electricity costs. “If you have an island that only makes up 3 percent of the sales, even if it were to have a 12 percent reduction, it's not enough kilowatt hours to actually move the needle,” said Ms Alston.

She said BPL is also assessing additional system requirements that could affect the cost of integrating renewable generation, including the potential need for a static bar compensator.

Mr Bhatnagar also questioned access to the power purchase agreements (PPAs), noting he would welcome the opportunity to examine the documents.

Ms Alston said the agreements were published in April 2026, while a ministry representative confirmed they had been tabled in the House of Assembly and said officials would work to make the large document available again through the ministry's website.

She added that BPL had sought to ensure the PPAs offered lower costs than BPL’s existing generation arrangements. Ms Alston pointed to the previous rental generation model, under which BPL was spending around $42m annually, noting that it was required to pay for rented engines whether or not they were generating electricity.

“By going to the PPAs, the first thing is we're only paying for what we use,” she said. “When they have to take their engines offline to do maintenance, we don't pay for that. We only pay for what we use.”

Ms Alston said the power purchase agreements also included strict communication protocols, battery energy storage requirements and technical specifications to ensure the new facilities can be integrated with BPL's grid.

She said the utility is bringing on 84 mega watts (MW) in gas turbines, 97 MW of solar generation and 73 MW hours of battery energy storage across its projects.

Ms Alston said renewable generation cannot be considered separately from the transmission and distribution upgrades needed to deliver electricity to consumers. “The goal again is to reduce the cost of electricity, but also make sure that the lights stay on,” she said.