The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE 

Tribune Chief Reporter 

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FRUSTRATED residents of Guana Cay, Abaco, say unreliable electricity is driving away tourists and lowering their quality of life.

Their pleas for help are the latest in a series of complaints against Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), with residents of Eleuthera also reporting similar power challenges.

“I feel like we’re living in a third-world country, paying first-world taxes, right, you know, and we’re not getting anything,” said longtime resident and business owner Tanya Wallace.

She said the cay has endured frequent power outages for over a year, with the latest lasting 48 hours for some this past weekend.

Willis Levarity, chief councillor for Guana Cay, attributed the island’s utility issues to freight boats damaging the underwater power line during low tide.

He said such incidents require divers to locate and repair the damaged line.

“I’ve been telling them to, like, at least locate the area and let the freight boats know where the power line is so when they pass, they could try to avoid cutting it,” he said.

Mr Levarity said the cay has a backup generator, but it is currently out of service due to mechanical issues.

According to residents, the electricity situation has impacted their finances and quality of life.

Mrs Wallace, who owns a liquor/convenience store, said she spends significantly on diesel to keep

her home and business running.

“And then we turn around at the end of the month and still get exorbitant BPL light bills,” she said. “You know, powers off,but you don’t get a break in your bill and then they do have the audacity to tell us, like, at every so many months, they’ll come around and be like if you have an outstanding amount of $300 or more, it doesn’t matter if it’s current or if it’s past due. Once it’s $300 or more, if you do not pay it, we will cut your power off.”

She claimed tourists have cancelled their plans due to the unreliable electricity, which is impacting people’s livelihoods.

Another community leader, Jeremy Sweeting, said Guana Cay is not the only area plagued by power outages, but Man-O-War and Hope Town are also affected.

“When power gets off, we have no water because the cays do not have the services of water and sewerage because we’re the outlying cays and not the mainland,” he said. “So in the case of tourism, if someone’s living in a cottage and they don’t have a back up generator, I’m sure it gets very frustrating.”

Arnette Ingraham, a senior manager at BPL, has acknowledged residents’ concerns and assured them that officials are actively working on long term solutions.

She noted that BPL is open to installing a sign in the area to warn boaters, but cautioned that maintaining the sign long-term could be challenging due to weather and other factors.

“We know that we have some lingering issues there in Guana Cay, but we’re working towards a long-term strategy including an Abaco ring feeder where we can feed all of the cays in Abaco and if there is any issues that there’s redundancy coming from one of the other cays,” she told The Tribune yesterday.