After a mass disconnection exercise on Inagua left nearly half the residents without power in October, Bahamas Electricity Corporation's (BEC) Manager of the Credit and Collections Department Ervin Dean suggested that a significant portion of residents could be left in darkness on Monday.
While he did not want to say how many households stand to be disconnected next week, Dean said the corporation was lenient during its last mass disconnection exercise and will be "less lenient" this time around.
"When we went there the last time, that was to get their attention," he told The Nassau Guardian. "We were very lenient with some of the people who came up with small sums of money, and we turned the lights back on.
"They were told, prepare yourselves and get yourselves together over the next six weeks.
"Some have done that, but there are some others who are still taking the chance to see what they can get away with."
There are approximately 450 households on Inagua, according to government officials.
BEC Executive Chairman previously said consumers on Inagua owed BEC in excess of $500,000.
Dean revealed that one resident's bill has bloated to in excess $32,000. He called it "totally unacceptable".
"The man has a house, he has a convenience store on the house and he has a restaurant and bar on the house," he said. "He just wasn't checking."
Noting that residential consumers on New Providence can be disconnected when their arrears reach $400, Dean said unless his team is instructed otherwise that baseline would be used.
"We don't want to cut off the entire island," he said when asked whether the majority of residents would be plunged into darkness.
"I always start with the people who owe more money first and then that gets the attention of the smaller man."
Many residential consumers on the island have not paid their bills in at least five years and now owe the corporation thousands of dollars, according to Dean.
Miller has said following the transfer of power generation from Morton Salt to BEC, residents did not pay for 54 months.
He did not say why BEC went so long without disconnecting supplies.
However, Dean said the corporation is partly responsible, though he did not provide specifics.
"We had not done any action on Inagua for about five years and a lot of it was our fault, but those people were just spoiled and thought we would never come to make them pay their bills," he said.
Dean said while the corporation recognizes the holidays are approaching, it is determined to collect the arrears. He noted that Inagua arrears are "the worst by far" in the country.
Some residents The Nassau Guardian interviewed in October admitted they owed thousands of dollars, but claimed they could not afford to pay the 30 percent required to have their lights turned back on.
But Dean said he believes many residents can afford to pay, but simply choose not to.

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