The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ELECTRIC vehicle dealers Pia and John Farmer have accused Bahamas Grid Company executives of scapegoating EV owners for longstanding failures in the country’s electricity system after the company’s chief executive described home chargers as a substantial, unseen drain on the grid.

The Farmers, co-founders of Easy Car Sales, said the estimated 2,500 electric vehicles on Bahamian roads represent an insignificant share of national electricity demand and argued that the system’s capacity shortfall is the result of inadequate investment and poor planning, not the growing adoption of electric transportation.

Their response followed comments by BGC chief executive officer Dareo McKenzie and chief operating officer Ryan Holder during a press conference with Bahamas Power and Light at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday.

Mr Holder said several faults had been caused by system overloads and pointed to what he called unsanctioned connections that add demand without the utility’s knowledge. He used homeowners adding air-conditioning units without completing the necessary administrative process as an example.

Mr McKenzie then singled out EV chargers.

“There’s a reason why we have processes in place where you ought to report when you’re connecting a new EV charger, right?” he said. “That’s a substantial drain, and that’s unseen to the system operators.”

However, the Farmers said there is presently no government requirement for homeowners to obtain permission to install an EV charger and described the suggestion that chargers should be reported as absurd.

Ms Farmer is managing partner of Easy Car Sales, while Mr Farmer is its executive director. The company specialises in electric vehicles.

They said most residential chargers operate within a home’s existing electrical service and rarely require an upgrade. They also challenged the suggestion that routine home charging places exceptional or unmanageable demand on the electricity system.

According to the Farmers, an electric vehicle travelling a typical annual distance consumes about 3,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, or 250 kilowatt-hours monthly. They said this is comparable to the consumption of a conventional electric water heater, residential pool pump or clothes dryer, and far below the electricity frequently consumed by household air-conditioning.

“We find using EVs as the main example of strain on the grid to be at best, uninformed,” they said.

They argued that EV charging is also more flexible than air-conditioning use because drivers can charge their vehicles overnight or during other periods when electricity demand is lower.

The Farmers suggested that BPL introduce preferential rates for motorists who charge during off-peak hours, saying this could support the conservation measures discussed during the press confeence.

They also questioned why attention was being placed on residential EV owners rather than the electricity consumption of large resorts, food stores and proposed data centres.

They said the country’s electricity problems predate the recent growth of electric transportation.

“The reality is the capacity shortfall of the electrical generation and grid distribution is a legacy issue including lack of continual investment in burgeoning demand and poor planning,” they said. “It has nothing to do with the adoption of electrical mobility.”

The Farmers also questioned whether BPL and BGC are planning for the Davis administration’s stated climate commitments.

They said The Bahamas’ nationally determined contributions to the United Nations call for fully electric vehicles to account for 50 percent of new vehicle sales by 2035, with hybrids representing another 30 percent.

According to the Farmers, meeting the anticipated demand from electric vehicles would require an additional 25 megawatts of generating capacity over the next decade, representing an increase of about ten percent from the present baseline.

They argued that the increase should be manageable if the electricity system is properly developed.

The Farmers also said consumers are turning to EVs because of lower fuel and servicing expenses, reliability and efficiency. They estimated that electric vehicles cost 65 percent less to own than petrol-powered cars and said drivers save thousands of dollars annually.

They further argued that wider EV adoption would reduce fossil fuel imports, preserve foreign exchange and cut carbon dioxide emissions, potentially strengthening the country’s access to carbon credits and climate financing.

“In our opinion, EV drivers are to be applauded, not blamed for the inadequacies of our grid,” they said.

The Farmers said BPL itself operates a significant fleet of electric vehicles and urged both electricity companies to prepare for the continued transition away from petrol-powered transportation.

“The revolution in transportation is already here,” they said. 

“The People and the Government are on board. BPL and BGC please plan for the energy future we Bahamians deserve and want, and don’t ask us to stay in the dark ages of fossil fuel transportation.”