The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) last night promised frustrated Eleuthera residents and businesses that it will conduct a “post mortem” after several communities on the island lost electricity supply for over 24 hours.

Arnette Ingraham, the state-owned energy supplier’s spokesperson, apologised for the lengthy weekend outage in an Eleuthera BPL What’s App forum and pledged it will seek “a better solution” after the Glass Window Bridge’s weather-enforced closure meant no BPL trucks were present - or could cross - into the island’s north to effect essential repairs.

Teams from both New Providence and Harbour Island were yesterday dispatched to mainland Eleuthera to deal with power restoration efforts after communities such as the Current lost energy supply for 27 consecutive hours, while sections of Whale Point were not far behind at 22 hours based on postings in the What’s App chat.

Asked why BPL did not leave one of its bucket trucks on the Glass Window Bridge’s northern side, knowing that bad weather was coming and likely to force its closure, Ms Ingraham replied: “This was the plan, especially for this weather event. However, we were inundated with outages in the south yesterday.”

This implied that all BPL’s repair trucks were caught on one side of the bridge when it was closed. “I can assure you that we will conduct a post mortem on this particular situation to ensure we have a better solution to accommodate our customers in the north and south,” Ms Ingraham added.

“On behalf of the team we apologise, and we can assure you that we are using all available resources to course correct and restore services to our customers, especially for those who have been out for over 24 hours. We understand the frustration and are truly sorry.” The weekend’s electricity woes revived all too-fresh memories of the frequent BPL outages and blackouts that plagued Eleuthera throughout this year.

One resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business yesterday: “I’m about ready to get the hell out of Eleuthera. I have had no power since last night and I have had no water all day. On top of it all, my generator developed problems this morning. I’m not a happy camper.”

They added that whenever BPL restores electricity supply it is “dirty power” because of the constant dips and spikes in voltage. Members of Eleuthera’s BPL What’s App chat group over the weekend constantly complained about the unstable energy supply whenever they did have it and voiced repeated fears that it would fry critical electrical equipment.

“Whenever the power comes on it’s dirty power,” the source added. “The voltage surges are just ridiculous. I’m almost ready to get the hell out of Eleuthera. People trying to get out of here have to go through North Eleuthera and, with the bridge out, it’s very difficult.

“People aren’t supposed to live like this in this century. This just shows you this is aging infrastructure. It needs replacement; not a band-aid, replacement. It’s a very corrosive environment that we live in and this infrastructure doesn’t go on for ever.

“Successive governments have just ignored it. They [the Government] love receiving all the VAT from property sales up here. They should reinvest some of that back into this island’s infrastructure. I’m not a happy camper, and our tourists, they are leaving in droves. They’ve had enough. This is like camping now, and my days of camping are over.”

Members of the Eleuthera BPL What’s App chat shared similar sentiments. “We just hit 25 hours in Current,” one resident posted. To which Miles Lieberman replied: “You have us by five hours. Any update please for Whale Point? Approaching 20 hours off.”

Arnette Young posted: “Might as well close Eleuthera for the season. This is just ridiculous.” One resident, displaying grim humour, added: “Will the last person to leave Eleuthera lease throw the switch off as they leave?” To which Ms Young replied: “LOL (laugh out loud) They probably be off already.”

BPL, in its initial advisory to Eleuthera residents and businesses yesterday morning, said: “Please be advised that our team is currently addressing several weather-related power issues this morning. As of 7.15am, supply has been restored from Hatchet Bay to the Rainbow Bay areas.

“The team is now patrolling the areas between Rainbow Bay and Governor’s Harbour Airport. Once their assessment is complete, power supply will be restored in that area. The team will then continue moving south with patrols until the entire Hatchet Bay south feeder is restored.

“Additionally, another team is mobilising to repair a damaged pole in the Governor’s Harbour area near Lord Baron’s. At this time, we cannot provide an estimated restoration time due to ongoing weather conditions, which continue to impact our efforts. We ask for your patience as our team works to restore power and will continue to provide updates as the field team shares new information.”

Realising more help was required, BPL announced yesterday afternoon: “In the past 24 hours, high winds have been responsible for outages across Eleuthera, particularly in North Eleuthera.

“Once the winds subsided, our crews were able to restore service to several communities, but this exercise was hampered once the winds increased. Presently, we are aware of outages in the following areas: South Shore, South Palmetto Point, Current, Upper and Lower Bogue, and Whale Point.

“To assist with restoration, our crew from Harbour Island will ferry to the mainland within the next hour to expedite repairs. We must advise that should conditions worsen, this may delay repairs or result in temporary service interruptions in other areas. In those instances, as soon as it is safe, our teams will commence work,” BPL added.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers who are experiencing extended outages due to weather conditions. Multiple crews are working in North, Central and South Eleuthera to address area outages and restore supply as quickly as possible.”

Then, in a further update late on Sunday afternoon, BPL told its Eleuthera customers: “We are working on several solutions to restore services to our customers in North Eleuthera. Once conditions allow, our Eleuthera team will be in North Eleuthera (over the Glass Window Bridge) shortly after 5pm today.

“To expedite repairs in North Eleuthera, we are also working to fly a team out of New Providence by 5pm. We will update you on these efforts by 5.30pm.” After it was pointed out that Current had been without power for 30 hours, and Whale Point 26 hours, BPL added: “We have a team from New Providence and our on-island team who will be on the ground shortly.

“Our on-island team has successfully crossed the Glass Window Bridge, and services are being restored. So far, supply has been restored to customers in Current. Our New Providence team is expected on the island within the hour to continue restoration work.”

One Eleuthera resident replied: “Finally, a press release after 26 hours. We know it isn’t your fault. Sometime you aren’t aware of the issue when it first happens. The truth is the issue was reported from before the Bridge closed and the crew could have came cross and been back before the bridge closed.

“Better yet, leave a truck on this side of the bridge. I understand it is weather-related mostly because the transmission lines need to be replaced. Thanks for the release but question why is the crew from Harbour Island just now coming across. Couldn’t they have come sooner, or the crew from central could have come through Gregory Town by ferry. So many questions and not enough answers.”