The Tribune

BY ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER

anixon@tribunemedia.net

BUSINESSES in downtown Nassau were forced to contend with an extended power outage for a second day as Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) moved to address what it described as two equipment issues at the East Hill Street Substation.

In a statement issued yesterday at 12.14, BPL said repairs were scheduled to begin at 12.30pm and were expected to take approximately five to six hours.

The utility said the East Hill Street Substation supplies customers between Collins Avenue and Marlborough Street, as far south as Vesey Street, as well as a major portion of downtown.

“BPL technicians identified the issue through proactive monitoring, and an additional equipment concern was discovered while crews worked to establish an alternate supply route through the Arawak Cay Substation last night,” the company said.

BPL said specialised teams had been mobilised to address both issues and restore full system redundancy.

“We understand how frustrating an extended outage can be for both residential and commercial customers, and sincerely apologise to all customers currently impacted,” the company said.

The outage came amid a series of power disruptions across New Providence over the past two days, with BPL issuing multiple updates as faults affected communities across the island.

On Wednesday afternoon, BPL reported a feeder at the Blue Hills Power Station had tripped offline, affecting Soldier Road West and surrounding areas, Kennedy Subdivision, part of Pinewood, Golden Gates #1 and part of Blue Hill Road.

Later that afternoon, the utility reported outages affecting East Bay Street, Shirley Street, East Street North and downtown, although no estimated restoration time was initially available

BPL also reported an outage in Lyford Cay, where it said a main cable fault had left consumers in the Ranger Road and Edgewater Drive areas without power for an extended period. The utility said power to the western area of Lyford Cay had to be interrupted to provide relief to affected consumers and prevent circuit overloading, prompting the implementation of rotational power supply.

By Thursday morning, BPL was reporting outages in Shirley Street, Centreville, Heartfield Street and surrounding areas, East Bay Street, South Beach Estates East, Pastel Gardens, Sunset Park Estates, Jubilee Gardens Estates, Tall Pines Estates and Butlers Street.

Additional outages were subsequently reported in Stapledon Gardens, Millennium Gardens, Fort Charlotte, Golden Isles and Bellot Road.

The disruptions have underscored the vulnerability of businesses that depend on reliable electricity to operate, particularly in the downtown commercial district where restaurants, retailers, offices and other enterprises rely heavily on power for daily operations.

The utility did not provide a separate estimate for when all other areas affected by the wider series of outages would be fully restored.