The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power and Light’s CEO Shevonn Cambridge insisted yesterday that the reliability of the grid is “pretty high” amid concerns about BPL’s ability to provide consistent service as the fuel surcharge is set to increase next month.

According to Mr Cambridge, while many consumers have concerns about recent outages, in most instances bad weather has been to blame.

While explaining the factors that have caused power disruptions, the CEO revealed that an aggressive push was underway to complete a 60-megawatt solar grid for New Providence.

However, he could not say whether the project would be done within 12 months. Once complete, he said, BPL would be able to save $23m each year in fuel costs.

 “In terms of the reliability of the grid, it’s actually pretty high at the moment, believe it or not,” Mr Cambridge said during an Office of the Prime Minister press briefing yesterday.

 “It’s just that, and I know a lot of people are concerned about some of the outages that we’ve had in recent times, but those were primarily due to inclement weather.

 “We’re a flat island. We’re prone to lightning strikes and as luck would have it as lightning is trying to find its easiest path to ground, the thing that’s sticking up out there is our 100-foot poles and so it’s the thing that attracts the lightning.

“We have protective mechanisms in place that protect against that such as the lightning rods and lightning arrestors and we have grounds on our infrastructure that are supposed to reroute the lightning to the ground.

 “We continue to have the nuisance of people stealing the grounds off our poles. It increases the risk of lightning strikes and the severity of those strikes.”

 Mr Cambridge also reminded the public that the company does not do live wire work, so maintenance has to be done where certain portions of the system have to be isolated.

 “So, if you can imagine we are a 24/7, 365 days per year organisation and we do maintenance daily.

 “So, everyday somewhere on this island there is an area that’s probably going to experience a li‘l outage here and there, but not every outage is a reliability or availability issue.”

 He also said there were issues like poles being knocked down that affected power supply.

 Regarding plans for the solar grid in New Providence, Mr Cambridge said: “Realistically whether it will be in place in 12 months I won’t stand here and say no, but it is doable, but it’s going to require a lot of things falling in place at the right time and that’s the best answer I can give right now.

 “Our preliminary calculations, the solar grid that is being discussed or planned at the moment is about 60 megawatts to be introduced into New Providence.

 “Our preliminary calculations are showing that it is going to save us $23m per year in fuel costs,” Mr Cambridge said.

 Also yesterday, Public Works Minister Alfred Sears said that no rolling hedge request had come to him since he assumed the post of minister.