The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said yesterday the government is "working feverishly" to have power quickly restored to the eastern part of Grand Bahama, which was devastated by Hurricane Dorian early last September.

The community has not had electricity since the powerful Category Five storm made landfall on the island, flattening homes and businesses and destroying a number of power lines.

Having to power their homes using portable generators, many residents have expressed frustration over the high costs associated with the equipment.

Meanwhile, others have noted the absence of power to be a stumbling block to their rebuilding efforts in the area.

Speaking on the matter yesterday, the East Grand Bahama MP said the government is currently talking with the Grand Bahama Power Company in hopes of bringing a speedy solutuion to the power situation on the island.

"We understand the need and urgency of getting power and water and getting the clinics up and running and getting the schools up and running…So, we are in discussion with the Grand Bahama Power Company about how and when we might be able to restore power to the east end island," he told reporters ahead of Cabinet yesterday.

"There's a bit of a chicken and egg situation where the power company is waiting for population density and the people are waiting for the power in order to begin the construction and the reconstruction. So, we're in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment."

Last month, Mr Turnquest admonished the power supplier over the lack of power in the eastern Grand Bahama community, urging company officials to move faster in re-electrifying the island's east end post Hurricane Dorian.

Speaking to reporters, he noted that residents are eager to have their power restored and their lives returned to some normalcy.

Asked when residents could expect to have power on in their respective communities, the finance minister could not give a definitive date.

However, he said the Grand Bahama-based power company is working on providing temporary solutions to generate electricity throughout the community.

"..The power company has committed to provide some temporary solutions so hopefully, very shortly we will see some temporary generators that will be spotted in these communities to power the individual communities rather than running the main transmission line from the main power plant in Freeport, which is very costly," he added.

"Ultimately, we were looking towards making these communities solar powered and self-sustaining power grids . . .and we're also looking at the possibility of finding some kind of funding mechanism where we're able to have individual solar solutions on individual roof tops, which are stand-alone units and which may be even more quicker in terms of being able to get them installed and getting people some kind of power to their properties.

"So, all of these solutions are being worked on and discussed at the moment. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact timeline for that at the moment . . .but we're working feverishly towards it, as we are with respect to water and trying to get the water company up and running."