The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FIFTEEN customers on Crooked Island affected by Hurricane Joaquin have had their power supplies connected, a statement from the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) said on Friday. 

BEC said that as of Wednesday, the company was able to provide street lighting to customers in Landrail Point, with the first set of customers to have their electricity supplies restored on Thursday. In the meantime, the statement said, pole planting efforts continue heading south on the island towards Seaview. 

However, the corporation noted that Crooked Island remains a "work in progress" and will take "some time" to completely restore power to all of its customers on the island. Areas such as True Blue, Cove, Browns, Bullet Hill and Thompsons continue to be "inaccessible" to BEC teams, the statement said. 

Additionally, amidst the repairs, BEC said "the level of devastation to homes and businesses on the island"means that many structures may still be unable to reconnect to BEC's grid".

The corporation said that due to the category four storm, Crooked Island suffered a "completely disabled infrastructure", including "electricity, telecommunications and most roadways". 

"BEC is very cognisant of these issues but remains committed to restoring electricity on the island and bringing some level of normalcy to its impacted customers," the statement said. "BEC thanks these customers for their patience during what has, no doubt, been a very challenging time."

Cable Bahamas Ltd (CBL) also announced on Friday that its efforts to repair facilities and other infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Joaquin are closer to completion. 

A company statement said the latest reports from the repairs teams in the southern and central Family Islands show the "majority" of the restoration work has been completed, with remaining repairs to be carried out over the next several days. 

In San Salvador, technicians have replaced three satellite dishes on the island, connected all nodes, erected down poles, and restored all networks and most channels, the statement said. It added that technicians are awaiting the delivery of "additional materials" to address remaining issues with five channels.

A welder is required to complete those repairs, which are expected to be finished by the end of this week, the statement said. 

On Long Island, all channels are now in service and power has been restored to all nodes servicing the island, CBL said. The company's fibre distribution network has also been restored. 

Replacement cables and hardware have arrived on Crooked Island and Acklins, and repairs to CBL's over-the-air television broadcast systems on those islands scheduled to be completed by the end of the week, the statement said. All repairs to the over-the-air broadcast systems in Rum Cay, Mayaguana and Ragged Island have been completed, CBL added. 

David Burrows, CBL's Vice President of Marketing, said the company is thrilled with the quick work technicians have made of the "mammoth task" and is pleased that residents are regaining access to services "that will better connect them to the other islands, particularly through news programming".

"It's important that we help these residents return to normal as best and as quickly as we can," he said. "We know that it is essential for them to feel connected with their fellow countrymen and to know what's going on around the country, especially as it related to ongoing relief efforts. So, we're happy to have our services back in operation for them during this critical time."