By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A TOP Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) executive yesterday admitted the utility has been forced to secure 25 megawatts (MW) of extra rental generation to meet the summer demand.

Patrick Rollins, BPL’s executive director, speaking at a Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer’s Confederation (BCCEC) breakfast at the British Colonial Hilton, said: “On Monday, we had some equipment failure. A few weeks ago, we lost a generator and we can’t find a part for it. We actually have to get some more rental generation for the summer.

“We are doing our best to minimise our load shedding, and this will be our last summer of those kind of issues.” Mr Rollins said the 25MW of extra rental generation will be in place by the end of May, and confirmed it will be provided by Aggreko, the company it has used over the past several years.

BPL has reported several generation shortfalls in recent weeks with various communities across New Providence being affected.

In his address to the business community, Mr Rollins said BPL lost 63 MW last September as a result of fires at its Clifton Pier Power plant. He described the incidents as “a real turning point for BPL”.

BPL, Mr Rollins added, has been employing rental generators since 2011 and “using up a good bit of money” in the process. BPL chief executive, Whitney Heastie, previously said the utility has been paying under $2m a month for rental generation units. “The amount of money we use in rental generation almost pays for the plant we are building,” said Mr Rollins yesterday.