The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Eleuthera residents and businesses across yesterday suffered an island-wide power outage that forced public offices to close early, left some without electricity for more than 14 hours and intensified calls for Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) to provide a clear plan for restoring reliability.

The outage, which began around 8pm on Tuesday, affected communities across North and South Eleuthera after what BPL described as a series of equipment and network failures that became a near island-wide blackout. While power was gradually restored to some areas throughout Wednesday, several southern communities remained without electricity late into the afternoon as repair crews continued restoration efforts.

The prolonged outage also disrupted government operations. In a public notice issued yesterday, the Department of Local Government advised that the Governor’s Harbour administrator’s office and the Ministry of Works office would close early because of the ongoing outage. The notice said normal services were expected to resume Thursday at 9 am provided electricity had been fully restored.

For residents and businesses, however, the latest outage represented more than another inconvenience.  Aldred Albury, former local government representative for The Current settlement,  said the prolonged blackout and repeated power fluctuations have become a near-daily occurrence that is damaging appliances, disrupting commerce and placing an increasing financial burden on families who already plagued with high living costs.

“Residents and businesses throughout Eleuthera are once again expressing serious concern over the persistent and unreliable electricity supply being provided by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL),” Mr Albury said in a statement.

“The prolonged outage experienced last night, followed by repeated on-and-off fluctuations, reportedly wreaked havoc on household appliances, electronics, refrigeration systems and business equipment. For many residents, these incidents are no longer occasional disruptions; they have become an almost daily reality.”

He added that “at any given point, it appears that at least one community on Eleuthera is without electricity”, arguing that the instability is creating unnecessary financial hardship for residents and business operators.

“Reliable electricity is not a luxury,” Mr Albury said. “It is essential for homes, schools, clinics, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, water systems and every sector of Eleuthera’s economy.”

Mr Albury accused BPL of failing to keep promises made during a Town Hall meeting in Rock Sound late last year, where officials committed to providing regular updates on the island’s electricity challenges. A planned follow-up meeting in North Eleuthera was later cancelled and residents, he said, have received little substantive information since.

Mr Albury called on BPL to publicly disclose the causes of the recurring outages, the condition of the island’s generation system, maintenance and equipment replacement plans, expected timelines for restoring reliable service, the process for claiming compensation for damaged appliances and how frequently residents can expect future updates.

Heather Carey also voiced frustration as the outage extended into Wednesday amid excessive heat. “Fourteen hours and counting, no power,” Ms Carey wrote on social media Wednesday morning. “The stress, anxiety, trauma of living this way daily is real.”

She said residents were left without updates for hours while enduring sweltering conditions, adding that many families were struggling to care for children, elderly relatives and vulnerable residents.

“People are sleeping in their cars,” Ms Carey said. She also questioned why BPL continues relying on refurbished generators instead of investing in new equipment, saying reliable infrastructure is essential for an island that depends heavily on tourism and small businesses.

In another post, Ms Carey urged residents to speak publicly about the deteriorating service. “Without power many communities have no water, no Internet, no phone,” she said. “This is dangerous.” 

The prolonged outages occurred as the Department of Meteorology maintained an excessive heat warning for Eleuthera and several northern islands, forecasting heat index values between 102 and 110 degrees through Wednesday, further worsening conditions for residents left without electricity or air conditioning.

BPL’s first public advisory on its WhatsApp channel was issued shortly after 8.40 pm on Tuesday, when it reported a power outage affecting areas from Rainbow Bay to Windermere after a power supply trip. Minutes later, the utility reported a separate outage in James Cistern caused by a downed neutral line.

By 9.20 pm, BPL said a series of operational events had caused widespread outages across North and South Eleuthera after efforts to restore the Hatchet Bay South feeder resulted in the entire electrical system tripping offline.

The utility later reported that repairs were complicated by problems involving generating units at the Hatchet Bay power station and an operational fault at the Rock Sound power station.

Throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, BPL repeatedly advised customers that restoration efforts had been unsuccessful and acknowledged there was no estimated restoration time for several affected communities.

At 3.45 pm yesterday, BPL issued a comprehensive update explaining that repairs to a generation unit had been completed earlier in the afternoon, but crews subsequently discovered a faulty neutral line in the Rainbow Bay area and another suspected issue involving a utility pole, requiring additional repairs before service could be fully restored.

By late afternoon, electricity had been restored to customers from Hatchet Bay to Governor’s Harbour. Up to press time, communities south of Governor’s Harbour remained without power as restoration work continued.