The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PLANS are in the works to catapult the Bahamas Electricity Corporation to the cutting edge of modern technology, Permanent Secretary of Works and Urban Development Renward Wells said yesterday.

While admitting he could not say a great deal about these plans, so as not to preempt any official announcements by Prime Minister Perry Christie, Mr Wells said major upgrades could be forthcoming.

He said: "We intend in every sense of the word to bring BEC into the modern era in terms of the fuel we use, the electricity we generate, and renewables.

"The PLP is very much in tune with the whole idea of bringing BEC into the 21st century.

"That is all I am prepared to say until the PM has made an official announcement concerning the board for BEC."

On May 5, chairman of the corporation's board, Michael Moss, announced two major investments for BEC: a $23.7 million contract with Japanese conglomerate Hitachi to install a 24-megawatt combustion turbine generator and the $6 million rental of a generator to reduce the number of black outs this summer.

The new Hitachi generator is not slated for installation until the summer of 2013.

Last summer, thousands of consumers expressed anger after being plagued with frequent blackouts.

Insufficient capacity resulting from malfunctioning generators and regular repairs forced BEC to regularly schedule load shedding for several communities in New Providence.

At the time, the general manager of the corporation said renting more equipment was a necessity as improvements to four of BEC's newest gas turbines would not be completed until sometime this year.

Former environment minister Earl Deveaux, who oversaw the corporation, said the demand for BEC's services would continue to expand with a growing population.