Amid a new round of rolling power outages this week in the aftermath of a "complete shutdown" of Bahamas Power and Light's (BPL) systems on New Providence, former Minister of State for the Environment Phenton Neymour charged that power company is in "major crisis" and the government, which engaged BPL to manage the country's power production and distribution, appears to have no answer.
Neymour said it is also apparent that Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, who has ministerial responsibility for BPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of PowerSecure, does not "have a handle" on what it happening at the power company.
"The reality is that BPL is now in a major crisis position, both operationally and financially, and as a result of it, the country, The Bahamas, is now facing a situation where we are facing a national energy crisis," he told The Nassau Guardian.
"If the government does not act immediately to address the failing infrastructure at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, BPL, and if the government does not address the resources that are required to turn around BPL at this particular time.
"You would recall that I have stated rep over the last four years that things would get worse before they got better, and things are indeed getting worse.
"What is the challenge is that the government brought in PowerSecure to take the blows for them, to take the blame.
"I said it was a bandaid method to addressing the issues.
"We are now seeing the results of that."
New Providence was plunged into darkness after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the result of a "major underground cable fault" that caused a complete shutdown of BPL's generators, transmission and distribution networks on the island.
Up to yesterday, residents in communities in eastern and southern New Providence reported power outages lasting for several hours.
BPL Corporate Communications Manager Arnette Ingraham said the cable was repaired on Thursday.
However, sources at the company said while repairs have been made on the cable, there is no telling how long the cable will hold up.
According to Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) President Paul Maynard, replacement interconnector cables have been in house for more than a year, but BPL, which has had carriage since February, has yet to issue a contract for the work to be done.
BPL has not responded to the matter, despite repeated calls BPL CEO Pamela Hill and several members of the company's Board of Directors.
Citing aging engines as the ultimate source of company's challenging to provide reliable power, Davis said the government is awaiting the outcome of negotiations by the Ministry of Finance over the purchase of new generation capacity.
But Davis said reliability has improved and BPL, which remains a state-owned entity, has been meeting its mandate with the government.
It remains unknown when the company could benefit from new engines and how much it will cost.
Meanwhile, Neymour called on the government to share PowerSecure's business plan with the Bahamian people.
The government paid nearly $1 million for PowerSecure to produce a business plan.
The document remains shrouded in secrecy and the government nor the power company has shared details from the plan.
Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter
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