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‘Eleuthera to get relief by end of September’

Toni Seymour, COO of BPL, speaks on the upgrades to the power grid on Eleuthera and the changes to the pricing for power at a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday. Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr

Toni Seymour, COO of BPL, speaks on the upgrades to the power grid on Eleuthera and the changes to the pricing for power at a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday. Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr

By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ELEUTHERA residents will experience relief from debilitating power outages by the end of September, according to Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) chief operating officer Toni Seymour.

During a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, Ms Seymour acknowledged the frustrations of residents

who have endured frequent power outages and even loss of water services in recent months.

She said increased load demands and unforeseen challenges have helped fuel the outages. Most of the power interruptions were beyond BPL’s control, she said, with weather disturbances, traffic accidents, construction damage, and wildlife as primary factors. She said BPL will undertake several key projects to address the island’s growing electricity demand, including installing five additional megawatts of generation at the Rock Sound power station, six megawatts of rental generation at the Hatchet Bay plant, and upgrading the subsea cable between mainland Eleuthera and Harbour Island.

“All of these projects are expected to be completed before the end of September 2024,” she said. “To complement this, we are installing an additional five megawatts of BPL own generation on Harbour Island to meet the demands, which currently exceeds the six megawatts of the rental generation currently installed there.”

She said BPL anticipates having more than 15 megawatts of additional generating capacity by the end of September 2024.

She said while the new capacity will help reduce outages, some interruptions — such as those caused by traffic accidents and storms — are still likely due to factors beyond BPL’s control.

“There will still be some outages, but it should definitely be reduced,” she said, adding that officials will build a bigger power station if the additional generation doesn’t sustain the load demand.

A team from New Providence is currently in Eleuthera, conducting maintenance tasks such as overhead line work, tree trimming, clearing, and pole replacements. System upgrades are also underway.

In July, Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting said Eleuthera residents are in

a “dire situation” over utility woes. Mr Sweeting, the MP for Central and South Eleuthera, said his constituents have “silently suffered” through frequent power outages and water disruptions for months.

“For months, Eleutherans from Harbour Island to Bannerman Town silently suffered through a series of power outages, power surges and correlating the effects of prolonged disruption in the water supply and disruption in the delivery of communications,” he said.

“The situation on Eleuthera is dire. The lack of the services is now a public health crisis and also a serious safety issue. My constituents are suffering from heat exhaustion and mental exhaustion. My constituents have been disenfranchised daily, and this is an unacceptable situation.”

Comments

Dawes 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Just in time for the end of summer. Well done!!!

ExposedU2C 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Toni Seymour likely did not even appreciate that she was making a complete and utter fool of herself at the press briefing. Now she's just a mouth piece for the Snake!

JohnQ 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Another band aid approach to a problem that has been festering for years. The utility is unreliable, unaffordable, and now it is admittingly unsafe. The leadership promises relief and then qualifies it with “There will still be some outages, but it should definitely be reduced,”. .

Bonefishpete 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Haven't heard how is Spanish Wells coping with the outages?

Porcupine 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Here on Andros it is no better. When will we stop listening to these politicians who say things will get better, as we all watch it getting worse. Is there a government official who doesn't lie and isn't utterly useless? Name them. Start at the top.

SP 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Exuma is another prime example of this systemic vexing problem.

Electricity, water, phone, and internet are basic essential necessities not just for residents, but doubly so for a resort destination.

As we stand around bragging about high arrival figures, nothing is done to alleviate the lack of infrastructure that is already overburdened and incapable of sustaining existing demands.

This leads to ruined vacations, negative reviews, and ultimately, major damage to the Bahamas reputation as a resort destination.

It is suicide for the tourism industry!

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