The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL businesses and homes were without electricity yesterday after a crane accidentally caught a high tension wire pulling down a utility pole at Harrold Road, according to Leslie Miller, outgoing Executive Bahamas Electricity Corporation Chairman.

Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Miller said the incident happened at around 11.30am with a utility pole just before where Harrold Road meets John F Kennedy Drive.

Major portions of JFK Drive, Harrold Road, the Tall Pines consistency, Gladstone Road and Victoria Gardens suffered power loss for an extended time as a result, he said.

“A crane pulled down one of the high tension wires on Harrold Road and JFK and tore down one of the poles and this happened before 12 noon,” Mr Miller said.

“Now I just spoke to them guys at BEC its almost 4pm and they just now mobilising a crew to go out there and get the problem fixed.”

Angered by the delay, Mr Miller said none of the workers at BEC “give a damn” about consumers who went for hours without electricity. He said dozens of businesses also collectively lost thousands of dollars.

“They were made aware of this pole and that power was out from this morning when it happened. Yet still here it is almost 4 o’clock and they are just now getting it together to fix the problem.

“You see now it is summer time, vacation, and Christmas is coming. They know that overtime pay kicks in at 4pm so they took their slow time to get the people’s power on.”

Earlier this month, nearly one-third of the island’s residential power supply was disconnected after an engine malfunctioned at the Baillou Hills Power Station.

At the time Mr Miller said several areas across the island experienced a brief power outage for around 20 minutes to an hour when engine four at the Baillou Hills station tripped offline.

Mr Miller said it took technicians between 30 minutes to one hour to repair that engine.

Some of the affected areas were Palmdale, Camperdown, Prince Charles Drive, Pinewood Gardens, Treasure Cove, Mount Vernon, Chippingham and South Beach, among others.

In June Mr Miller warned residents across New Providence to expect load shedding as BEC grappled with power generation issues.

At the time, Mr Miller said while the corporation had installed 40 extra megawatts of power this did not prove to be enough to sustain the island.

He said BEC’s board of directors recommended to management that 60 megawatts of power be installed, but Mr Miller said management refused to listen to the advice because “everyone on the board is on their way out”.

He said the shortfall caused power outages island wide.