The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Residents of an Abaco cay have warned the Prime Minister that “unbearable” electricity woes have become “a significant deterrent” to tourism and are driving second homeowners to invest elsewhere.

The Great Guana Cay community, in a letter sent to Philip Davis KC and Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) senior management that was accompanied by a near-100 strong petition, revealed that frequent electricity outages over the past two years - averaging around one every four days - had seen investors “throw up their hands in frustration” and give up on post-Hurricane Dorian rebuilding.

Acknowledging that the cay’s power was restored some two years after the Category Five storm’s passage, the letter said electricity supply was now being routed through an underwater cable that is “in a continual state of being repaired and patched”.

It contrasted this with a new line, run to the multi-million dollar Baker’s Bay development on Great Guana Cay’s northern end, which it said it not needed “and not being used” despite the rest of the island’s plight. And, while BPL has installed a generator on the cay, residents and second homeowners argued it is insufficient to meet energy demand while no technicians are present to address problems when they arise.

Warning that the absence of consistent electricity supply “has had a profound and dramatic effect”, the letter added that many Great Guana Cay businesses “are struggling to stay afloat” as a result while residents have “lost countless” air conditioning units and appliances to power fluctuations and surges varying from 50 volts to 150 volts.

And community members also slammed “unaffordable” BPL bills stemming from the utility’s ‘glide path’ strategy to reclaim at least $90m in unrecovered fuel costs. The letter asserted that one second homeowner, who was not present on Great Guana Cay at all during the three months involved, still received “nonsensical” bills of $1,200, $900 and $830, respectively, despite no electricity being used.

Many other Bahamian islands and communities will doubtless sympathise with Great Guana Cay’s plight, since the story outlined in the letter is a familiar one that has been repeated numerous times. A BPL spokesperson, confirming that the utility has received the letter, blamed boats and vessels making “contact with” the underwater cable for the frequent power disruption.

While not defining this contact, which presumably results from vessels dropping or dragging their anchors, the spokesperson added that BPL is looking to the “possible upgrade” of Great Guana Cay’s current rental generation unit so that it is in position to take over when the underwater cable hits trouble.

They also disclosed that, long-term, BPL is seeking to build-in redundancy for all the Abaco cays by linking them all to an underwater power cable system. However, the spokesperson was unable to provide a timeline for the project given that it will cost the state-owned utility “several million dollars”.

“BPL is aware of the complaints from Guana Cay residents regarding their electricity supply. Extensive work has been done rebuilding our network following Hurricane Dorian and the pandemic. We have restored power to all communities in Abaco, including Guana Cay,” the BPL spokesperson said in response to Tribune Business inquiries.

“Presently, Guana Cay is receiving supplies from an underwater cable from mainland Abaco. The island also has a standalone backup rental unit that is being maintained at a significant cost to the company. Further, the underwater cable is the primary feeder for the island and most of the challenges with the underwater cable occur when there is some contact with motor vessels in the area.

“BPL also has a long-term strategy to address this. The Abaco Ring is an underwater cable system that loops all of the cays creating a back feed that serves as redundancy in the event a primary feeder is lost. At present, we do not have a timeline for this project as it is anticipated to cost several million dollars,” the spokesperson added.

“We do understand the frustration of our Guana Cay customers and are looking at interim measures to improve the supply of electricity to the island. This includes the possible upgrade of the current rental unit to meet the island’s power needs if there is a fault on the underwater cable.

“Overall, our priorities are to adequately maintain our current generation and transmission and distribution systems, as well as ensure sufficient capacity to meet Abaco’s growing demand from major projects like Montage Cay.”

Solutions likely cannot come soon enough for Great Guana Cay residents. “We are writing to bring to your attention a pressing issue that has been plaguing the residents of Great Guana Cay in the Abacos and is threatening the economic and social well-being of the community,” the letter to Mr Davis stated.

“The situation has become unbearable, and it is our earnest hope that you, as the Prime Minister, can address this matter urgently. We understand the challenges that face the nation, but we kindly request your support and intervention in securing the necessary resources and attention to restore and improve the power infrastructure on Great Guana Cay.

“The restoration of consistent power will not only relieve the burdens faced by residents, second homeowners and local businesses, but will also encourage tourism to thrive once again, providing a much-needed boost to our local economy.”

The letter, which was also copied to John Pinder, the central and south Abaco MP, and Jeremy Sweeting, Hope Town District Council chief, affirmed that Hurricane Dorian’s devastation had left Great Guana Cay “in disarray” with extensive infrastructure damage including to the BPL grid.

While power was restored in 2021, around two years after the Category Five storm’s passage, “It is being run through the original underwater marine line to Guana Cay, which is in a continual state of being repaired and patched, resulting in an extremely inconsistent power supply with approximately 182 days of outages over the last two years”.

The letter added: “While the community is left with the old marine line that is constantly being damaged, there is a new existing line that runs to Baker’s Bay on the north end of the island that is not being utilised.

“As you can imagine, the residents, second homeowners and businesses of Guana Cay are asking why a new line was run to Baker’s Bay when it wasn’t even needed and is not being used, yet the community finds itself left at the mercy of a worn out and deteriorating underwater line that seems to break every other week.

“And while BPL has placed a generator on the island, technicians are not allowed to stay on the island to monitor the generator and address problems when they occur. Without a technician we experience even more time without power as technicians often cannot arrive until the next day.”

Pointing out that the generator, even when operational, cannot meet Great Guana Cay’s energy demands such that there are still residents “who are not receiving power”, the letter added: “The inability to provide consistent power has had a profound and dramatic effect on the homeowners, local businesses and second homeowners.

“Many second homeowners who attempted to invest, rebuild and come back to the island have thrown up their hands in frustration and have decided to move to other locations to invest their time and money. Furthermore, it has become a significant deterrent to tourism, which is not crucial not only for the local economy of the Abacos but The Bahamas in general.”

Besides undermining residents’ efforts “to maintain a reasonable standard of living”, the Great Guana Cay community said the frequent BPL outages are forcing them to incur “financial hardship” through the added cost of having to operate generators and source associated fuel. And he use of generators is also increasing the release of contaminants and pollutants.

“Local businesses, which largely depend on tourism, are struggling to stay afloat due to the lack of a reliable power supply,” the letter added. “The fluctuating power hampers the operation of restaurants, bars, dive shops and other tourist-related services, creating a negative image and discouraging visitors, and resulting in second homeowners looking elsewhere to build.

“Further, residents and second homeowners have lost countless air conditioning units and other small and large appliances due to voltage as low as 50 volts and surges as high as 150 volts..... Further, many residents with medical issues requiring CPAP machines and other medical devices that rely on power are at a significant risk due to the inconsistent, and often non-existent, power supply.”

Pedro Rolle, BPL’s chairman; Shevonn Cambridge, the utility’s chief executive; and Toni Seymour, its chief operating officer, were all copied on the letter along with the media.