The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Several areas of New Providence experienced an electrical outage yesterday due to lightning storms.

Bahamas Power and Light said service to multiple areas of New Providence was impacted by a lightning storm yesterday afternoon.

Residents in East Street South, Prince Charles West, High Point Estates, Stapledon Gardens, Victoria Gardens, East Street North, Sunset Park Warren Street and Oaks Field were affected by the outage due to inclement weather.

As of last night, service was restored to most of the consumers, however, transformers were required to be replaced in High Point and Victoria Gardens leading to some resident’s electricity taking longer to come back on stream.

The utility said it encountered an “additional issue” in Oaks Field and technicians were still working to restore electricity as of press time.

Last week, BPL said it experienced “major system disturbance” due to a cable fault that caused units at the Clifton Pier Power Station to go offline.

The “disturbance” led to an interruption in service to residents throughout the island.

In a statement, BPL described the blackout as “unpredictable” but noted that quick action from its teams led to full restoration “within a short period of time.” While some areas had power restored quickly, others experienced prolonged outages due to additional work required on the company's transmission lines.

BPL noted that it has not experiences any major outages in New Providence for over a year and apologised to consumers.

“BPL emphasises that it hasn't experienced any major system disturbance experienced in New Providence in more than a year. While unpredictable, all available resources were committed to the safe restoration of services.” said BPL.

Following the blackout Energy Minister, JoBeth Coleby-Davis said efforts are underway to prevent a recurrence and enhance power reliability

Mrs Coleby-Davis said the recent power cuts highlight the urgent need for electricity reforms in the country and emphasized that BPL’s teams have been working diligently to address critical areas needing upgrades, especially with hurricane season underway.

“The state of the country's infrastructure, transmission, and distribution lines is strained, trying to meet the high demand for power from homes and businesses,” said Mrs Coleby-Davis.  

“There is great urgency to focus our efforts on addressing these challenges and to communicate with the public about the work we are doing.”

New Providence’s electricity grid is being transferred to the control of Bahamas Grid Company, an entity that will be 60 percent majority-owned by private investors. Island Grid, the entity that will manage Bahamas Grid Company, is headed by Eric Pike, whose Pike Electrical will be supplying the manpower, equipment and resources to overhaul the grid. Pike trucks and staff are already arriving in The Bahamas.

Bahamas Grid Company is presently raising $100m via the private placement of a bond issue, with the proceeds set to finance some $120m in “foundational” upgrades to the New Providence grid by the 2025 third quarter. The bond offering document details the implications for BPL staff, with expatriate workers set to take the lead on the upgrades until Bahamians can be up-skilled.