By KYLE WALKINE
Tribune Staff Reporter
kwalkine@tribunemedia.net
ATLANTIS President and Managing Director George Markantonis said yesterday the mass power outage had some serious effects on the Paradise Island resort’s operation.
“We don’t know exactly what happened, but because of the power outage it also blew some of our backup systems so it took us longer than usual to get back to normal,” Mr Markantonis told The Big T yesterday. “Our teams took all night dealing with the situation. I wish that had happened in September when we’re running like 35 per cent (but) not now when we’re at 98 per cent.”
“What the outage does is cause people (to) come out of their rooms rooms and sit in the corridors. Opening your window is no good because it’s hot outside. We were fortunate we were not affected in the 1,200-room Royal Towers at all. We were, however, negatively affected in the Beach Tower, half of the Coral Tower and then half of The Cove, which was unfortunate.”
The Tribune understands that the One & Only Ocean Club’s backup generator ran out of diesel leaving restaurant and hotel guests in the dark.
Sources say restaurants were unable to print receipts for meals and had to offer them complimentary to guests. Hotel employees were also seen walking guests to their rooms with flashlights.
Comments
Regardless 10 years, 4 months ago
The mismanagement of this key utility by a government monopoly disrupting the lives of over 100,000 Bahamians is one thing but threatening our number one industry at the nation's number one destination resort at the same time is beyond forgiving. This is a total disgrace. First rate example of Banana Republic mentality.
Tarzan 10 years, 4 months ago
How long until every single Bahamian understands that privatization and competition are the only way you get low prices and good service. Governments cannot run businesses. The Soviet empire, the Chinese Communist Empire both gave up on it, despite their near religious belief in it. It does not work!!!
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
Wow 98% full. How many friends will tell their friends and so on and so on...breaking news..Aluminium Ladder brings down country.
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
This slave was sweltering on Thursday night General...
lionfish 10 years, 4 months ago
ThisisOurs----please tell. Do you know something???
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
Yeah...Word of mouth is the best advertisement you can get...
sheeprunner12 10 years, 4 months ago
Sooooooooooooo, why don't Atlantis or Bahamar just take over BEC ?????????? They would surely run it right............... right??????????????
Liberty 10 years, 4 months ago
People are afraid that if the government does not own BEC anymore they can't get their friends to do them favours and keep their power on even though they don't pay their bills. When in actuality, if it is privatized and allows for competition; prices will be so competitive if your bills aren't being paid you need to change your priorities!
John 10 years, 4 months ago
THE WORD ON THE STREET IS THAT THURSDAY'S BLACKOUT WAS A CLEAR ACT OF SABOTAGE. Employees at BEC were already disgruntled with Leslie Miller for cutting their overtime and other benefits but the number of illegal power hook-ups and meter tampering in New Providence is said to be staggering. The B E C employees who authorised these illegal hook ups and meter by passes collect money each month like mini BECs. They feel that if the 'tiefin' of electricity is discovered and the power thieves,disconnected they can no longer collect on their "lite bills" They will have to go back to living on just the hefty salaries BEC pays them. While the discovery and disconnecting of illegal hook ups will put MILLIONS back into BEC 's revenue stream it will mean a lot of standard of living adjustments for these crooked employees. Every meter and every property in this country needs to be audited.
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
Hmmm, you have a lot of conspiracy theories John but on this one I'm almost believing you. It just doesn't seem to make sense that one $40 dollar ladder could do what a direct hit from a lightening strike has never done...but maybe the physics are different. In any event I hope the terrorists don't latch onto this fool proof plan
John 10 years, 4 months ago
You call it what you like, then do the math. BEC's electricity is priced to cover its fixed operating costs. When the price of fuel goes up, that cost is passed directly the consumer. So how is it that the corporation is losing millions each year? Except someone stealing somewhere. BTW where can you buy an aluminum ladder for $40?
TheMadHatter 10 years, 4 months ago
The fuel charge has nothing to do with the price of fuel. It is simply "the amount we need" to cover this month's expenses divided by the number of meter turns nationwide.
TheMadHatter
SP 10 years, 4 months ago
Corruption begins at the top and work its way down. As more people become aware of "da deal" they are cut in downstream.
"Johns" conspiracy theories may hold water as just a few days ago an employee filled me in on the illegal direct meter by-pass hook ups that are "supposedly" very common.
Our country is crippled by systemic corruption.
Politics corrupts economics. The classic cure for systematic corruption is balanced government. Americans fought for independence because they believed that the British government was corrupt.
We can never begin to address corruption in B.E.C. or anywhere else until corruption is rooted from politics.
No one will dispute piracy is alive and well in the Bahamas. Instead of sailing ships they now have offices, big houses, fancy cars and wear suit & tie uniforms.
The U.S. has stepped up it's war against piracy. Last week they landed a well aimed cannon shot that made an unquestionable direct hit that got the pirates attention causing them to cry fowl.
Historically pirates are a slippery & conniving lot that never give up easily. We need and welcome continued help from our American friends to deal with unprecedented endemic corruption that is stifling growth and development & destroying our country and people at an alarming pace.
Hit them again Uncle Sam!....They won't listen so make them feel!
P.S. Where are the $40.00 aluminum ladders?
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
Try amazon, before Jan1 2015
TalRussell 10 years, 4 months ago
Puzzling that both Atlantis's Comrade President and Managing Director Markantonis and BEC's Chairman "Pot cake" Leslie have issued statements that their Hotel and BEC's generators did not have sufficient fuel on hand to keep the lights on? We done know BEC had no cash and run up they credit line with Shell but not Atlantis's not enough fuel in they reserve storage tanks excuse?
sheeprunner12 10 years, 4 months ago
Sol Kerzner in Dubai now ................ a different crew running Atlantis now
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
Don't think it's that unusual. If they had considered the risk of a seven hour island wide blackout (in good weather), the probability would have been so low that the cost to address outweighed the risk....hurricane scenario would be different, probability of a blackout would be higher. I'm sure they're putting in place plans to avoid a similar catastrophe going forward
TalRussell 10 years, 4 months ago
They do say, some things remain the same from the 1970's. Comrade, if this was a first-time happening of lights gone off, I might be more inclined to buy your story. Reminds me of an incident going back to the 1970's when American television and radio personalty Arthur Godfrey issued a statement, how he had landed at a fairly modern airport in Nassau Town, was driven along clean well kept roads and how well maintained the lawns and gardens of the houses he passed had been. How he had rode over a modern bridge connecting Nassau to Paradise Island, all to experience after he checked into a fancy multimillion dollar hotel, that while taking a shower up in his hotel room, he could could have peed with more pressure than was trying so hard to shoot itself from the shower's nozzle. And, then, while at diner later that night, the lights went out throughout the hotel. So, Comrade, how many years did Paradise Island have to prep itself, against having their employees escort their hotel guests along darkened hotel corridors, using good old fashioned flashlights?
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
My point was not that we have not had blackouts, what made this one unique was the timespan. Under "normal" weather conditions I can't remember a time when electricity would have been off for more than three hours and even that seems like a long time. So when making calculations, even if a company said three hours is the longest we've ever been without power, to mitigate that risk we'll double that time and store sufficient fuel for six hours it would have still been too little.
After Thursdays episode the risk models have changed, the probability of a 10 hour blackout for example, doesn't seem so improbable....
positiveinput 10 years, 4 months ago
So your saying a resort like Atlantis has a stand-by generator with the ability to run for more than three hours without refueling yet some human theory calculation decided not to have the tanks filled to capacity. That's a crop out excuse. Why have a generator with a specific fuel capacity if your not going to use it. That simply shows the comfort of its guest in not priority to that of a penny pinching resort.
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 4 months ago
Businesses always take calculated risks. I don't have any idea whether or not they filled tanks to capacity, half capacity or three quarter capacity. What I do know for certainty is that whatever they calculated as risk for a "normal" weather day, it wasn't seven hours. In fact from the outrage of the ENTIRE Bahamian population (and the number of cars I heard driving up and down all night) NOBODY considered that to even be a possibility.
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