By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

CENTRAL and South Abaco MP John Pinder lashed out at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) yesterday over the frequent power outages affecting the island, calling it a “disgrace”.

He called for the decentralisation of BPL’s management, saying more authority needs to be given to company heads on Abaco.

“BPL, power has been absolutely a disgrace in Abaco,” he said during his contribution to the Budget debate in the House of Assembly. “BPL needs to decentralise their management and give more authority to the general managers in the islands –– not only more authority but more human capital and more financial resources. This past month now, but I’ll speak about this past week, our power has been on less than a quarter, less than thirty per cent of the time. “Our islands are packed. We have tourism budding. Demand is high. Yet, the power is not only not steady and off but when it comes on, it comes off right back immediately. Food is being spoiled, appliances are being lost. Revenue is being lost. The revenue from our tourism economy is being lost. In The Bahamas, it may be 70 per cent of our economy. In Abaco, it is everything. Every dollar coming from there.”

 Abaco residents say the island is suffering an electricity crisis.

 Junior Mernard, a resident of Hope Town, told The Tribune on Sunday: “In a 24-hour period, we would be off anywhere between 12 to 16 hours a day. It’s off as I speak to you now.”

 The power cuts also affected the island’s airport, with flight agents checking passengers in manually.

 Yesterday, Mr Pinder said the power situation on the island is due to “years of FNM neglect”, an assertion Opposition Leader Michael Pintard rejected.

 Mr Pintard said he was told that issues with the generator were to blame for the power outages.

“I understand that one may have been fixed but it’s quite possible that the technicians were not paid appropriately, but just for the record, Abaco pre-Dorian had four generators that provided at least twice the amount of power that was required and even after Dorian, again, we were in a position to provide sufficient power,” the FNM leader said in the evening session, hours after Mr Pinder ended his contribution.

 “This is a new problem, quite possible because of the cash flow issues that BPL is having and failure to pay technicians.”

 Mr Pinder applauded BPL workers for their efforts to resolve the problem, saying: “Without them, we will still not have power today.”

 “Furthermore, I think it’s time we explore partnership with other entities to make BPL stronger nationwide. We’re an archipelago spread of 100,000 square miles and dozens and dozens of communities that need reliable power so this is something Central and South Abaco will be pushing for I will not stop and I’ve had multiple meetings with the chairman of BPL. I’m in constant contact with BPL Abaco on the ground and I will continue to voice your concerns in Abaco,” he said.