The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday pledged to "shore up" Harbour Island's electricity shortfall before summer, pledging that "all is not lost" in solving the destination's 30-year power woes.

Desmond Bannister, minister or works, told the Eleuthera Business Outlook conference that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) would bring in short-term rental generation to boost capacity while it worked on options for a long-term solution.

Acknowledging that BPL has an obligation to produce reliable power, he said: "Issues of reliable electrical supply have plagued Harbour Island for more than 30 years. We are focused on fixing them so as to facilitate and support reliability of power supply, and hence the efficiency of business operations on the island.

"So I can assure you that all is not lost. Far from it. In the short-term, rental generation will be brought in to shore up the shortfall for this summer. In the long-term we will conduct a cost benefit analysis to determine the cost of upgrading the North Feeder, so as to determine whether to supply generation from the Hatchet Bay Power Station."

Mr Bannister said BPL was examining the installation of solar energy in North Eleuthera to meet daytime energy demand, a project that may require a submarine cable to run from Eleuthera's mainland to Harbour Island.

Focusing on events that had made the addition of temporary rental generation capacity "critical and urgent", he added that the $45 million tourism and marina project by Michael Wiener's 4M Harbour Island Ltd - already approved by the Government - will add to a summer power load pegged at 5 Mega Watts (MW).

With the existing cable from the Hatchet Bay Power Plant to Harbour Island unable to provide the necessary capacity, voltage and frequency, Mr Bannister said the "distance and irregularities" caused by undersized and different type conductors resulted in low voltage to customers.

"The existing generation capacity on Harbour Island is unstable/unreliable, and lacks the capacity to meet the load demand required during the summer holiday period. Additionally, existing Gensets are experiencing low fuel pressure to all units," Mr Bannister explained.

"The existing generation power modules are 1800 RPM units. These high speed units are not durable. They are best used for short-term generation, not for continuous operation. It was a short term fix by Powersecure [BPL's former manager] that became permanent.

"These units were in operation for approximately two years, and are already experiencing catastrophic block failure due to the continuous running at full load. Four units are presently out of service; three with permanent block damage."

Elsewhere, Mr Bannister said the Government was allocating $14 million for construction of a new airport for North Eleuthera, and $1.5 million to upgrade Harbour Island's docks.

A further $2 million has been budgeted for engineering studies on a replacement for the famed Glass Window Bridge, with construction on the successor to last from 2019 to 2021 and be "extremely expensive".

"We realise that the Glass Window Bridge is the key to the commercial viability and, indeed, the very existence of this community," Mr Bannister said. "A safe, modern causeway will certainly be worth it.

"At the same time that we are looking at building a new bridge, we are investigating the possibility of creating a safe touristic attraction at the site of the old bridge. There will be investment opportunities here for those with vision."

He added of the upcoming 2018-2019 fiscal year: "My capital budget for the entire country is likely to be in the region of $113 to $120 million, so not everything will get done at once."