The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

ELEUTHERA businesses are suffering lost sales, damaged equipment and spoiled food as persistent power outages worsen, with the island’s Chamber of Commerce president yesterday warning that years of inadequate planning have left the network struggling to keep pace with growth.

Thomas Sands said the recurring disruptions were undermining business operations, investment and staff productivity, while residents voiced mounting frustration over blackouts that have increasingly affected the Eleuthera mainland.

“So, in terms of businesses and power outages, again, it’s been devastating for businesses in terms of opportunities lost in terms of servicing customers,” Mr Sands said. “In some instances, people in the food service businesses have lost inventory. And also, equipment is being affected.”

He added that the uncertainty created by inconsistent Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) supply was making it increasingly difficult for businesses to plan and operate effectively. The latest wave of complaints surfaced on Wednesday, with numerous residents reporting power failures, damaged appliances and overwhelming frustration with the frequency of outages.

Aldred Albury, a former local government representative for The Current settlement, said electricity interruptions had varied across the island, with the longest outages lasting around four hours. He said that while BPL workers attempt to reconfigure the system to allow the utility’s own generators to carry the load instead of rental units, electricity repeatedly went off and returned at intervals of about five minutes.

Mr Albury said the most recent disruptions have generally occurred during evening peak demand, placing particular strain on residents returning home after work.

“When you come home from a long day at work and just want to relax, the power off when you reach home and don’t come on until 9-10pm at night,” he said. “The nights have been hot but I know the workers of BPL are doing their best with the resources they have.”

Mr Albury warned that the growing frustration could eventually lead to another public protest, similar to demonstrations held on Harbour Island several years ago over electricity and water supply.

He added that residents could mobilise again if conditions failed to improve, adding that the island needs additional generation capacity to meet peak demand and maintain supply when an engine becomes inoperable.

“The island needs more generation capacity to carry the load during peak times, especially, should one engine become inoperable for various reasons,” Mr Albury said.

Mr Sands said the recurring reliance on short-term fixes was contributing to public frustration, and called for a comprehensive master plan to address electricity generation and infrastructure requirements.

“I think that frustration will continue until we really lay out a concise master plan,” Mr Sands said, adding that the costs of repeated temporary solutions to the Government and taxpayers could be substantial.

He also called for tax concessions and incentives to encourage businesses to invest in energy-efficient equipment and renewable energy systems, arguing that commercial consumers could help ease pressure on the national grid.

Mr Sands proposed a model under which businesses could generate their own electricity while eventually supplying excess power back into the system, reducing the burden on conventional generation while improving overall capacity.

“I think, yes, you will continue to have people very frustrated because it appears it is, as I said, up today and down tomorrow,” he said. “And the next time it seems more entrenched because it’s almost like we’re piecemealing the solution.”

Mr Sands said he was not disputing that BPL and the Government were making efforts to address the crisis, including the construction of a new renewable and LNG power plant. However, he argued that successive administrations and utility management failures have contributed to the present difficulties.

“The power plant that they are building should have been here 10 years ago,” he said. “And that’s a lack of planning on both the administration side and poor management in terms of the utility, and also the change from one management to the other based on changes in the Bahamas government.”

The electricity problems in Eleuthera reflect a wider national struggle with unreliable power supply, with disruptions affecting schools, healthcare facilities, households and businesses across New Providence and the Family Islands.

Senator Arinthia Komolafe yesterday said frequent outages were disproportionately affecting children and older people, while adding to the pressures facing businesses already contending with the high cost of living and under-employment.

“The frequent power outages have been causing disruptions to our children’s learning during the school year,” the Opposition senator said, listing schools in Eleuthera and several New Providence institutions, including Anatol Rodgers High School, Government High School, C.C. Sweeting Senior High School, C.W. Sawyer Primary School, Sandilands Primary School, Eva Hilton Primary School and Tiny Tots Preschool among those affected by early dismissals or closures.

Mrs Komolafe also raised concerns about elderly and sick people who depend on reliable electricity for medication and oxygen treatment, as well as facilities caring for seniors that are grappling with blackouts and high electricity bills.

She said businesses across the country, including those in downtown Nassau and the Family Islands, are demanding answers from BPL over sustained outages.

“The time for heads to roll has long passed,” Mrs Komolafe said.

“The Bahamian people deserve more accountability from the leadership of BPL, the responsible ministers in the Davis Ccabinet and Bahamas Grid Company (BGC), which continues to receive millions of dollars of the taxpayers’ funds.”

Mrs Komolafe called for resignations at the highest levels, and said the Government should apologise for the failure of its energy reform efforts, arguing that the persistent outages were undermining confidence in the promised improvements.

Meanwhile, BPL has acknowledged significant power supply problems in Great Guana Cay in Abaco, where residents endured repeated interruptions linked to generator failures and faults in the subsea cable network.

In a statement, BPL said Great Guana Cay had been equipped with a standby generator more than a year ago, but that unit suffered a major electrical failure on August 26 and had to be removed for repairs.

The utility said the Man O’ War Cay generator, which served as a secondary stand-by source for Guana Cay in the event of a cable failure, was subsequently used to restore electricity after a subsea cable fault disrupted supply on October 2.

However, that generator tripped offline on October 4 because of a mechanical problem, leaving only portions of Guana Cay energised while repairs and troubleshooting continued.

BPL said the cable fault affecting the Kent Smith area of North Guana Cay was repaired around midday on October 7, restoring electricity to that section after around three days without power. Later that evening, another feeder trip revealed a separate subsea cable fault between Scotland Cay and Guana Cay, leaving the entire community without electricity overnight.

Power was restored to Guana Cay at around 12.50pm on Thursday, October 8, BPL said.

As a longer-term measure, the utility said the tender for installing new reinforced subsea cables was in the final approval process.

Once the purchase order is issued, the contractor will be mobilised, with the project expected to take around four to six weeks after work begins.