The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.ne

A Cabinet minister yesterday said a renewable energy project is expected to bring much-needed electricity capacity to Eleuthera by year-end, while residents continue to voice concerns over persistent water outages in Harbour Island.

Clay Sweeting, works and Family Island affairs minister, addressing the ongoing electricity issues, said the Government is eyeing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with EA Energy to help strengthen the island's electricity supply.

"I spoke concerning the power purchase agreement that was made with EA Energy, who has all of their material on the ground in Hatchet Bay," said Mr Sweeting. "We can anticipate that once they get that solar farm up and running, along with the LNG terminal there, that we can see some more capacity building."

He acknowledged that electricity demand has outpaced available capacity as Eleuthera's economy has expanded. "Eleuthera has grown by leaps and bounds, even though the energy challenge has been there for decades," he said. "Along with the economy moving also comes demand for power."

Mr Sweeting said he is hopeful residents will begin seeing progress before the end of the year. "I would hope that by the end of the year you would see some movement on that project," he said.

While plans to improve electricity generation are advancing, residents in Harbour Island say they are facing another infrastructure challenge: Eextended disruptions to their water supply.

Several residents reported that water service has been inconsistent for nearly a week, forcing households to rely on water stored in tanks that are now running low. One resident, who requested anonymity because of concerns about publicly criticising the situation, described the outage as "a nightmare”.

"We've only been able to get a drizzle of water downstairs since last Thursday," the resident said. "Upstairs, there hasn't been a single drop. Our tanks are almost empty, and people are wondering how much longer this can continue."

The resident said the recurring interruptions have become increasingly frustrating, and argued that a permanent solution is needed rather than temporary fixes.

"This can't keep happening every few months. We need a real solution instead of another band-aid approach. Families can't plan when they don't know if they'll have water from one day to the next,” they added.

Other residents reported being without a reliable water supply for between five and seven days, with some saying their household storage tanks are close to running dry.

The twin utility issues come as Eleuthera continues to experience rapid residential and tourism growth, placing increasing pressure on aging infrastructure and reinforcing calls for long-term investments in both electricity generation and water distribution systems.