The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) cannot keep the lights on in the capital island of our country. Residents of New Providence have become accustomed to annual summer load shedding because BEC cannot meet peak demand caused by the increased use of air-conditioners by residential and commercial customers.
Every summer it gets hot and every summer BEC fails to meet demand. And, by the way, BEC's failure occurs under Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Free National Movement (FNM) administrations.
Before private management was hired at the airport, the government poorly maintained our gateway. Smelly restrooms and broken down luggage retrieval sections were just a few of the disorderly functions of that structure.
After private management was hired and a stable revenue stream established to fund needed expansion, the airport became a thing of pride for Bahamians.
The problem is that the main interests of most politicians are staying in power and getting reelected. They do not want to fire anyone (potential voters) and they do not want to anger anyone (potential voters).
It is now time to make a move with BEC. Our politicians cannot run it properly. That has been proven over the decades.
Commercial and residential consumers have suffered as a result of the government running the power supplier. Constant power outages damage equipment and cause some businesses that do not have generators to close until the power supply is restored. Revenue is lost as a result.
And if equipment is damaged, businesses have to go through a long entanglement with BEC in order to receive compensation.
Residential consumers have their appliances and electronics damaged by the on and off cycle of power cuts and restoration. For those who do not have generators, power outages make difficult carrying out the simplest things.
The government must relinquish full control of BEC. It could be fully privatized with the government assuming all or most of its debt in order to make the corporation attractive; or it could be partially privatized with the partner assuming managerial control of the supplier with the government being a minority partner.
If BEC is sold to a group with experience running a successful power company, there could be a similar result as witnessed at the airport.
Another option would be to allow private companies to open up and also supply power in New Providence. If the government thinks it must own BEC forever, then this model would allow those companies to produce the supply needed to keep the lights on all the time.
The idea has been floated of a BEC partnership. What is needed is a formal national consultation on BEC, followed by a position paper, followed by revisions, then a decision on a new model and the executed change.
What our politicians do not seem to understand is that Bahamians are fed up with their incompetence. After 38 years of independence we are still struggling to do simple things such as keeping traffic lights on, fixing roads and maintaining adequate power supply and water pressure. Since the government cannot do these things, then we must find new models to ensure that they are done efficiently.
Our suggestions are in no way exhaustive. There are many creative ways to ensure that services are provided. The one model we all know has failed is full state ownership and control.

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