The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A former Chamber of Commerce director has hit out at the recent spate of blackouts in the nation’s capital charging little has changed at Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).

Debbie Deal, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer’s Confederation’s former energy and environment chair, told Tribune Business BPL has had very little change over the last five years with blackouts in pockets of the island every day.

She said: “We were supposed to be putting in the additional engines and this was supposed to give us the power that we need and we will have less blackouts and less load shedding and none of that seems to have actually happened.

“We realise that BPL is in a financial situation, where it does not really have the financing to redo the transmission distribution, which is crucial. It’s the reason why we have so many outages and why certain areas are out on a regular basis.”

Referring to the numerous BPL social media groups, she further lamented that there are consistent complaints about portions of the island being without power and it is not from planned outages either.

Ms Deal also said: “This is something that just doesn’t end and is very frustrating for businesses to try to survive and also it doesn’t look like COVID going anywhere, so it makes it very difficult also for persons that need the internet, for home schooling and for working from home and that type of thing. It’s really a challenge and it’s disrupting absolutely every aspect of life in the Bahamas.”

“We realise the grid needs to be updated. The grid needs to be able to withstand, or to be able to take persons, who would like to use go with solar.”

Arguing that going solar with BPL’s current infrastructure would be “too much pressure” on BPL’s grid, she added: “When people normally get home at 6pm in the evening and they turn on their air-conditioning or anything that you are using at home and it causes things to stop. Just trip.”

There is also a huge financial problem at the country’s main power supplier with debt being owned to creditors of over $100m and it is something that would continue to hinder the progress of BPL if it wants to make the changes needed for the Bahamian consumer.

Ms Deal has a solution to help get BPL to be able to collect more of its outstanding revenue and it is with “pre-paid meters” that she says has been “sitting in BPL’s warehouses for at least six years now.”

She said: “Once we have pre-paid meters installed, it would be an automatic cut-off if people run out of electricity. It doesn’t matter who you are you could be the Prime Minister, or someone who lives in Albany or Ocean Club Estates. If your bill isn’t paid within three months, the computer just shuts it off.”

BPL needs to start to “collect what it is owed” if it is to become a sustainable company that investors would feel comfortable investing in. “BPL needs to get forceful with the payment of their bills that are outstanding, they need to collect on them and it doesn’t matter who it is.

“Those need to be collected. BPL should not have to go around and beg for their money and BPL should not be giving people electricity without it being paid for,” Ms Deal warned.