By ANNELIA NIXON

anixon@tribunemedia.net

ELEUTHERANS have no faith in promises made by BPL and the government in regards to a 50 percent power rebate and additional generation being added to the island’s supply.

“I’m not a believer,” owner of The Islands Spa, Karen Catalyn, said as she vented her frustrations to Tribune Business. “I’m not a believer in anything BPL says. If it happens that will be great. I do not believe it will. I’m just waiting to see. We get our bills in two weeks, I think.”

Ms Catalyn is not the only doubter. Owner of Nicki’s Signature Nails said she does not believe the 50 percent power rebate makes sense nor will it remedy the constant prolonged power outages and high electricity bills Eleutherans have been plagued with for years.

“I believe that’s a scam,” she said. “It dont make no sense. 50 percent? Well everybody was complaining about their bill being doubled. So if you take 50 percent off of your bill being doubled, you getting the normal bill. At the end of the day they still going to charge you double your bill in September and October, and November and December. So, in reality you getting charge your original bill just for the month of August and then in September, you gone get it double again, just like it was for the past few months.”

The owner of the nail salon said she invested in a generator a month ago because she could no longer handle the power outages that have caused her multiple customers. She recalled a time when the electricity went out in the middle of her handling a client’s nails. She said the power was out for four hours and she was unable to finish the job. She also complained of uncomfortable conditions during outages.

“I was sweating bullets,” he said.“You doing a pedicure and the power just cuts off.”

Ms Catalyn said the outages have also caused tourists to leave her estabishment in the middle of spa treatments. She said a few years ago during the American Independence Holiday weekend, “masses of tourists”, left the island due to outages. She said during that time the power was out for four days. However, she said that recently, the electricity had been off or, “an entire day”.

The owner of the salon said she wasn’t present during the protest and Ms Catalyn said if she had been on the island she would have been part of the protest.

She blames the government for BPL’s behaviour in regards to power outages and high bills, stating the government “are the managers”. She also claimed no one came to the island to speak to her and other business owners until after residents protested.

“We made it quite clear that we were going to do a demonstration,” Mrs Catalyn said. “Had somebody come speak to us it may not have been necessary. That’s what I’m talking about. They come after the fact.”

Mrs Catalyn describes one of the “biggest grievances” as BPL not reimbursing customers after power dips and outages damage appliances. She claimed the motherboards of the washer and dryer at her spa were blown about a week ago, due to dips in the power. She said she asked BPL for reimbursement once before but nothing came of it.

“I had to bring proof to show where there was a spike or dip in the electricity at that precise time,” Mrs Catalyn explained. “Something like that, they said. Mind you, there’s ten other people outside waiting with similar complaints. People have large complaints and have gotten nowhere.”

Mrs Catalyn underlined the role Harbour Island plays in the economy of The Bahamas, reminding BPL and the government that Eleutherns deserve better.

“I’m sure you’re aware of the amount of funds that is generated, not on Eleuthera, on Harbour Island alone,” she said. “We have eight major hotels on Harbour Island. We have summer resident and winter resident homes. It is extremely hurtful that we have to be plagued by the modern-day outages. It’s not acceptable.”

Mrs Catalyn did want to leave a few positive words about the company and said she must give BPL credit for alerting residents when outages occur but she calls for more transparency.

“Being on the island for so many years, it was good at one point, I must say,” she said. “Then something happened where maintenance was let go or the wrong type of transformers were used. It’s a number of excuses. I’ve heard all the excuses. I’ve lived through it. I was here when the power plant burned up 40-something years ago. I was here after Hurricane Andrew when we had no electricity and water and compared to what is happening now, this is definitely the worst.”

As far as the promised added generation that should be available by the end of September, the owner of the nail salon said it’s just that - a promise. She said she hopes it’s one they fulfill.