The Tribune

BY FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Grid Company (BGC) says it has cut the backlog of legacy underground electric cable faults by almost 50 percent since it took over management of New Providence’s transmission and distribution network in April.

Dareo McKenzie, its chief executive, in reply to Tribune Business questions said the gris operator has cut these faults from 50 to 27 as it now shifts its focus to an ageing distribution network following completion of its foundational transmission work. He added that Bahamas Grid had inherited around 50 underground faults from Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) when it took over responsibility on April 20.

“Working with our strategic partners, with some assistance from BPL, Bahamas Grid Company has steadily reduced the total number of known distribution faults to 27,” said Mr McKenzie.

The remaining faults are now being targeted through the deployment of an international specialist cable repair team, which was mobilised on Monday and has begun work to isolate, repair and replace the highest-priority faults.

Mr McKenzie said the specialist team will remain in New Providence for two weeks, although the wider repair programme will continue until all identified faults have been resolved. “Some repairs may be completed quickly, while others will require more extensive excavation and replacement work,” he said.

The intervention comes as Bahamas Grid turns its attention from the transmission backbone to the wider distribution system, which Mr McKenzie said contains considerable ageing infrastructure, including underground cables, underground joints, switching equipment and certain substation assets.

“The foundational transmission work scope has all been completed to-date,” he said. “Bahamas Grid Company is now focused on a comprehensive strategy to improve system reliability by addressing the broader legacy distribution system challenges.”

Mr McKenzie said significant investment in the transmission backbone has improved resilience and stability at the transmission level, but stressed that the distribution network represents a separate and broader challenge.

“The underground cable faults that we are currently targeting for repair are just one area of the legacy infrastructure, and represent an important focus area in our broader reliability improvement programme,” he said.

Bahamas Grid has previously acknowledged that customers have faced repeated and extended outages in recent months, and Mr McKenzie said the targeted underground faults have contributed to some of those interruptions, particularly when failures occur on critical underground circuits.

He said underground cable faults can also make outages more difficult and time-consuming to resolve because locating the fault, excavating the affected area and carrying out the repair can take considerable time.

“For that reason, addressing these legacy faults is one of the initiatives Bahamas Grid Company is undertaking to improve reliability and reduce the duration and frequency of service interruptions,” said Mr McKenzie.

However, he warned that the company's reliability programme cannot focus solely on underground cables because the grid is made up of a complex network of interconnected overhead and underground equipment, electrical components and cables installed over many decades.

Many of those assets are now approaching the end of their useful life, while reliability can also be affected by weather-related damage, electrical stress from peak loading, equipment failures, poor workmanship, inadequate routine preventative maintenance and vegetation.

“Given this, Bahamas Grid Company’s strategy is to take a comprehensive approach that addresses all aspects of the grid as part of our reliability programme,” Mr McKenzie said.

The grid operator is also looking beyond the 27 known faults to identify weaknesses in exposed sections of underground cable before they result in customer outages.

Mr McKenzie said the specialist team's work will therefore extend beyond simply clearing the existing backlog, with Bahamas Grid seeking to identify potential future failures in a preventative approach.

The repair programme is expected to require excavation in some areas, potentially causing temporary traffic disruptions, particularly across the northern New Providence underground network.

Mr McKenzie said Bahamas Grid Company is working closely with the Department of Public Works to co-ordinate traffic management, and intends to provide advance notice to affected communities, motorists, businesses and residents before work begins at specific locations.

He said the remaining faults generally reduce system redundancy and operational flexibility, which in turn affects overall reliability.

While Bahamas Grid Company declined to provide a specific cost for the specialist engagement, Mr McKenzie said the work forms part of a much larger grid reinvestment programme that is expected to total “several million dollars annually”.

“The programme is a reinvestment into the grid by Bahamas Grid as part of our ongoing commitment to modernising the grid and improving service reliability for our customers,” he said. “We view this investment as necessary to address long-standing infrastructure defects to strengthen grid reliability.”

Mr McKenzie said Bahamas Grid’s approach will be to make targeted investments designed to deliver measurable improvements in reliability and customer service, while creating a more modern and resilient transmission and distribution grid capable of meeting current and future load growth.

The company said weather conditions could affect the pace of the current repair programme, but it intends to keep consumers and other stakeholders updated through its communication channels as the work progresses.