The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president yesterday said he is expecting businesses to enjoy the traditional “boost in activity” over the Christmas holiday with several already starting their promotions.

“I expect we get will get a boost in activity over the Christmas holiday. Businesses that tend to be more involved are pushing to attract customers with some initiatives on the ground, and I expect something to happen,” said Mr Carey.

He added that he is optimistic for 2025 with several projects targeted at Grand Bahama well underway, and said he is “confident” the $2bn investments promised by the Davis administration will be delivered despite ongoing friction with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

“I really look forward to some of the things that are promised starting to happen. There’s a lot of promising things that I see, and I’m very confident that things are going to move even with the nuances of the Government and the Port Authority and their little fight,” said Mr Carey.

“I think people are ready, and I think they’re willing to do their part to make things go, so I’m excited about the possibilities, and I think 2025 is going to really be different, notwithstanding some calamity, but I really expect things to be going for Grand Bahama in 2025.”

Grand Bahama Power Company’s top executive, Dave McGregor told Tribune Business last week, that the utility’s largest generation unit, whose repeated mechanical failures were largely responsible for the load shedding and electricity outages that plagued Grand Bahama over the summer months, is set to return to service before Christmas after undergoing extensive repairs in Florida.

Mr McGregor, GB Power’s president as well as Caribbean chief operating officer for Emera, the Canadian utility giant and its 100 percent owner, added that it is now “revisiting” its electricity generation plan to make sure all eventualities are covered in time for summer 2025’s peak load demand as he conceded “there’s a lot of work to do” to ensure sustained reliability.

Mr Carey said he believes GB Power is “deadly serious” about ensuring it has enough generation capacity to avoid a repeat of the frequent outages experienced this year. He speculated that the utility was not adequately funded by its parent to undergo all the necessary projects, but is confident it will resolve its issues.

“They’ve said it. I have to believe it, but they are business people, they’re not playing. I think maybe their parent isn’t funding them the way they ought to be funded to do all the stuff they need to do, but I believe they’re deadly serious about turning the corner,” said Mr Carey.

“The fact is that they’re trying. I believe that they will, by and large, resolve the problem. And it has to be, because the first quarter is going to grow and we’re going to need the power.”

Mr Carey said that with several major investment projects such as Carnival Cruise Line’s $600m Celebration Cay private port set to begin operations next year, along with construction on Weller Development’s Six Senses resort and the Grand Bahama Shipyard’s $665m dock expansion, there is a need for more power generation.

He added that another pharmaceutical manufacturer may eventually decide to purchase the former PharmaChem Technologies site and that, too, will increase the demand on GB Power. “We’re going to be demanding more power,” said Mr Carey.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with PharmaChem, but I truly believe that at some point another player is going to come in, and the bottom line is it’s going to be more demand, and I believe they’re going to get ready for that.”