The Tribune

By DANA SMITH dsmith@tribunemedia.net BUSINESS owners were angry when power loss lasting for nearly 24 hours forced them to close their businesses for the day. Electricity has been out in the Blue Hill Road and Cumberland Street areas since 6pm Monday, and as of 4.30pm Tuesday, power had yet to be restored. An angry business owner, who did not want to be identified, claimed as a result of the outage, she has lost more than $20,000. "We were in total darkness and not able to operate," she said. The power loss has left her feeling "totally frustrated." She thinks "BEC has no respect or regard for the public." She said she had called BEC "several" times since Monday evening only to receive an automated voice service telling her they were aware of the problem and looking into it. "It's ridiculous," she said. "If you don't pay your bill on time, they are out here immediately to cut your power." The business owner said she's been forced to run her generator and it has since burned out. "I've been in a whirlwind trying to get my place running," she said. As for the surrounding businesses, according to the source, they have all "locked up and gone home." "I could hear people beating on their doors all day long wondering why they aren't open," she said. "They're losing money left, right, and centre." She said she has seen BEC trucks driving around the area, but the power has yet to be restored. A representative for the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) said he was unsure of the problem behind the outage. "I can't confirm (the power loss), but the cable people probably cut a wire or something," the representative said. "It happens almost every day. I don't know what type of drink they be taking." The representative said he had found out about the outage only yesterday morning, and directed The Tribune to BEC's Public Relations department for further answers. The public relations department could not be contacted.