The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

ts-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

THE union representing Bahamas Power and Light workers said it has been assured there will be no layoffs at the power provider amid economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I would have spoken to the Minister (of Works Desmond Bannister) myself up to two days ago,” Bahamas Electrical Workers Union’s president Kyle Wilson said. “And, I would have placed some hard questions to him and he assured me there is no issue.

“He told me not to be frustrated or alarmed about anything because the government is doing what it has to do to secure a better future energy wise for the Bahamian people and that there would be opportunities for young people to grow in BPL. I was satisfied by the information given to me.

“From the union standpoint I have spoken to the CEO. I asked him to let me know the truth, so we can sit and work things out. I basically got the same response that I got from the minister. He said there will be no job loss in the foreseeable future whatsoever. He told me they are not targeting layoffs at this time.”

As it relates to Tuesday’s island-wide blackout, Mr Wilson said he is not alarmed by it and assured the public it was not sabotage-related.

On Tuesday at approximately 1pm, power went out across New Providence. Around 3pm, power to most of the island was restored however gradual restoration efforts took place overnight with Skyline Drive, Blue Hill Road north and Yellow Elder Gardens being the last restored at 1.16 am Wednesday.

The BEWU president said “these things can happen”.

“The equipment is man-made so things can happen, but I can assure you that the staff is always on top of the issues and work expeditiously to bring the system back up,” Mr Wilson said. “As far as I know, it’s no issue with maintenance or anything like that. I can assure you there will be an investigation as to what caused the issue. That’s automatic.

“That must take place. If they feel like it’s damaged or sabotaged then they will get the authorities involved. I can assure you this is not a situation of sabotage. There would have already been talks of the union misbehaving, but there is no union unrest or disharmony taking place from BPL. At this time all is at peace between the union and BPL’s management.”

Mr Wilson, who works at the Blue Hills Power Station, said he has no pressing concerns where the blackout is concerned. He said sometimes there are faults in the system or animals can cross into transformer lines or there can be accidents with cars running into poles.

“I am not alarmed about it at all,” Mr Wilson explained. “On the consumer side, it’s frustrating, but the system is designed to protect itself from damage so that specific situation would be isolated and then power restored. So it’s more or less an issue of the system protecting itself.

“Now specifically yesterday (Tuesday) I really can’t say what the issue was. There are always factors that can take place. There is no 100 percent guarantee. These are not god-made systems, but man made systems so there are always things that can happen and sometimes do happen. To be honest.”

On Tuesday night, BPL issued a statement saying the blackout was caused by a short in the system at a substation where a team was working.

“. . . Earlier this afternoon, the team was making preparations to tie in a new substation on Gladstone and Firetrail Road. In order to complete the works, the team had to isolate the circuit at the Skyline substation that feeds the old Gladstone Road substation before tying in the new substation.

“While attempting to complete this activity, a short in the system at the Skyline substation initiated an island-wide blackout,” BPL said.