The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A gym owner yesterday said repeated Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) outages have become so common that he now disconnects his equipment whenever he leaves for the day, fearing unpredictable fluctuations could destroy costly electronics.

William Saunders, owner of Phiitness Place, said recurring electricity disruptions over recent weeks have forced him to take precautions to protect his business while also coping with lost revenue and interrupted operations.

"Whenever I leave, I unplug everything," he said. "Some things have surge protection and some don't, but you never know what's going to happen."

Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Saunders said one outage recently forced him to shut down for an entire day after arriving at work before dawn to find the power already out. "I got here around 5am and the electricity was off," he said. "It didn't come back until around 5.30pm. That was basically an entire day of business lost."

According to Mr Saunders, the problems did not end when service was restored. "The next morning the power was clicking on and off repeatedly," he said. "That's when you start worrying about speakers, electronics and other equipment getting damaged."

Mr Saunders said the outages have created financial pressure for small businesses already struggling to manage expenses. "When you can't operate, you lose money," he said. "The bills still have to be paid whether the power is on or off."

Mr Saunders said the disruptions often force him to reschedule clients, creating additional work while reducing revenue. "When I cancel clients because of an outage, I have to make up those sessions later," he said. "Those are days I'm not getting paid for, so you're losing money."

The frustration extends beyond his business. Mr Saunders, who lives in eastern New Providence, said he has also experienced frequent outages at home. "You leave work with no electricity and go home to no electricity," he said. "I don't think I've had 24 straight hours of power in more than a week."

While critical of the service interruptions, he acknowledged that conditions in the Palmdale area have improved somewhat in recent weeks. "It has gotten better over the last two weeks," he said. "But people are still dealing with outages, and it's hard when you don't know when the next interruption is coming."

Mr Saunders said many small business owners simply want reliable electricity so they can focus on serving customers rather than worrying about whether their equipment will survive the next outage.