The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney is calling on Bahamas Power and Light to produce and publicly present its plan of action to improve power generation and transmission amid rolling blackouts.

The former Bamboo Town representative, in a press statement on Monday, castigated BPL’s management company and the Christie administration because the new deal for the utility provider has resulted in no improvement in electrical services despite assurances by the government.

Mr McCartney called BPL a “complete and utter disappointment” to date.

“We indeed have the potential to be ranked among the superpowers of the world. Sadly, however, we are plagued by political leaders with a third world mentality which continues to threaten our very development,” stated Mr McCartney.

Noting the spate in power outages in recent weeks, Mr McCartney lamented that the problem will continue.

“On Friday past, residents here in New Providence experienced an island wide shut down of electricity services,” he said.

“Traffic lights malfunctioned and banks temporarily suspended certain customer services, while at the Lynden Pindling International Airport – the country’s premier gateway – the loss of electricity at the control tower grounded outbound flights and kept inbound flights from landing.”

He added: “Unfortunately, Friday’s grid failure was not the first, and until real action is taken to address the issue it will likely not be the last.”

Mr McCartney said of Friday’s grid blackout: “…Our third world political leaders have remained silent, a stark difference from the fanfare and propaganda with which they announced plans for energy reform.”

He said the Christie administration had a litany of promises ranging from improved reliability to lower electricity prices – all of which failed to see the light of day.

“…. And the company which he assured Bahamians would usher in a new age for the energy sector in the Bahamas – PowerSecure International – has been a complete and utter disappointment thus far.”

“Under the less than watchful eye of the PM and his inept Cabinet, Power Secure has been allowed to assume management control of the company without a clear plan on the way forward. Even now in the face of outages which diminish our quality of life and threaten to cripple our already fragile local economy, no one in this government has demanded to see the company’s plan on the way forward.”

“Does such a plan even exist? And if it does, what assurances do Bahamians have that the long-standing issues with generation and reliability will actually be addressed? The DNA calls on officials at Bahamas Power and Light to release its detailed plans for improved generation and transmission of electricity for residents here in New Providence and across the wider Bahamas.”

“Such a plan should not only include an upgrade and overhaul of the aged and outdated generation equipment currently being used by BEC/BPL, but it must also include the introduction of alternative energy sources.”

Mr McCartney suggested that natural gas options, air, wave and waste to energy processes all remain key alternatives to the model presently employed by BPL.

He went on to berate Prime Minister Perry Christie for implementing some of those various alternatives in his home.

“While Mr Christie has seen the good sense to implement the use of such resources in his own home, exorbitant import rates for solar panels and other equipment have made it difficult for the everyday average Bahamian family to avail themselves of the benefits. Since taking office this Christie-led administration has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted,” he added.

“They have shunned every opportunity to be open and transparent with the people who elected them, choosing to leave Bahamians in the dark both literally and figuratively speaking.”

Last Wednesday BPL announced that it would begin “outage rotations” to help address the corporation’s struggles to meet customer demands. Intermittent power cuts continued on Thursday and Friday.

The government signed a five-year agreement with PowerSecure in February to manage the Bahamas Electricity Corporation which was later renamed Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).

In recent months, PowerSecure provided the government with a business plan, but details of that plan have not been shared with the public.