NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Power and Light says that it has launched an investigation following the delivery of contaminated fuel to Harbour Island for the second time, which has resulted in a 'major' generation shortfall due to the failure of four of its generator units on Monday.

The incident has once again reignited power supply issues on the island, with the potential duration of these challenges anticipated to extend over several days.

"The failures are a direct result of contaminated fuel (water emulsion) that BPL received in the past twenty-four hours. Similar to the generation challenges last month, this is the second time that fuel has been shipped to BPL's Harbor Island plant and caused significant damage to BPL's rental units and widespread outages for several days," the company said in a statement. 

The company added that while the on-island team is working on repairs, the technician is set to arrive on the island today to assist in repairing the units and returning them to service. 

"Due to the severity of the damage, we anticipate that it may take several days for all four units to return to service. We have launched a major investigation into how the fuel contamination happened to ensure that we eliminate the likelihood of any other occurrence," the company added. 

BPL had recently assured its customers on Harbour Island that it would be able to fully meet the island's energy demands with sufficient spare capacity, following recent challenges to four of its six units, which resulted in load shedding and disrupted business during the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

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