The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

TWO elderly people in East Grand Bahama died at home after power outages left them unable to use their oxygen equipment, Free National Movement MP Kwasi Thompson claimed in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Mr Thompson raised the deaths during debate on the Older Persons Rights, Protection, Care and Support Bill, highlighting the importance of reliable utilities for older people.

"This actually occurred on two separate occasions in East Grand Bahama,” Mr Thompson said. “And unfortunately, both patients died at home because the power went off and they were unable to access their equipment.”

When contacted by The Tribune, Mr Thompson declined to give further details about the two deaths, saying he wanted to respect the families’ privacy. It is not clear when the deaths happened.

He said power cuts can be more than an inconvenience for some elderly Bahamians, particularly those who rely on electricity-powered medical equipment. He said electricity should be treated as part of the healthcare system, because people depend on it to run medical devices at home and to refrigerate medication.

Mr Thompson’s claim comes five months after the government took control of Grand Bahama’s electricity supplier. In May, Prime Minister Philip Davis announced that the government, through a special purpose vehicle called the Grand Bahama Electricity Company, was acquiring all outstanding shares of the Grand Bahama Power Company from Emera.

Mr Davis said the company would adopt Bahamas Power and Light’s tariff schedule, cutting bills for Grand Bahama customers by an average of 37 percent. The deal was financed by a loan from Standard Chartered and Scotiabank, guaranteed by the government. The opposition criticised it as asking taxpayers to stand behind $280 million in new borrowing to buy and run the company.

In June, Mr Thompson accused BPL of offering excuses rather than solutions for persistent outages. He said the government had failed to deliver on promises to lower electricity costs and improve reliability, and that Grand Bahama residents were still waiting to see the benefits they had been promised.

Outages have continued across the country for months. BPL and Bahamas Grid Company, which have faced criticism over the disruptions, have partly blamed unprecedented heat and increased demand for electricity. The outages have persisted since the end of summer.

Businesses have reported thousands of dollars in losses from spoiled goods and shorter opening hours, and some residents have been without electricity for days at a time.