Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) says it is “laser-focused” on improving reliability on Harbour Island and mainland Eleuthera after the Emancipation Day holiday was marred by multiple long outages.

The state-owned utility provider, in a statement, confirmed that South Eleuthera suffered due to generation challenges at the Rock Sound power station on Monday August, 4. “Early Monday morning, one of the rental units at the station tripped offline as a result of high operating temperatures and cooling system related issues,” BPL said.

“This caused an outage impacting approximately 1,516 customers on the south feeder - areas between Greencastle settlement and Bannerman Town. Our operations and maintenance team promptly responded and successfully returned the unit to service, restoring supply to the affected areas.

“Later in the day, approximately 3.10pm, generation issues persisted as the rental unit overheated due to the higher-than-normal system load over the holiday weekend. When electricity demand exceeds typical levels, units are placed under additional strain, increasing heat output and sometimes triggering automatic shutdowns to protect the equipment,” BPL added.

“This occurred a series of times throughout the evening. To stabilise supply and maintain service for as many customers as possible, BPL implemented a series of scheduled load-shedding rotations in South Eleuthera on Monday evening starting about 9.50pm until about 12.50am.

“BPL acknowledges that customers in Eleuthera have faced persistent challenges in recent months, and we are committed to addressing them. As part of our grid revitalisation strategy, BPL has been steadily strengthening transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure across the island, which has already led to a significant reduction in T&D-related outages.

“We have also taken a laser-focused approach to improving generation reliability, particularly in Harbour Island, where we recently exceeded the island’s generation needs through strategic upgrades and better load balancing. With these improvements in place, our teams are now prioritsing enhanced generation capacity and reliability along mainland Eleuthera.”

Philippa Kelly, the FNM’s candidate for central and south Eleuthera in the upcoming general election, said residents were unable to cook and sleep, adding that for some conditions have posed a health risk. She called for action because “reliable power isn’t a luxury”.

“This Emancipation Day should have been a time of celebration, but for many families in Eleuthera, it was a day of heat, frustration and darkness,” Ms Kelly said in a voice note. “Once again, the power was off for hours. Meanwhile, we have been forced to pay electricity bills that have more than doubled under this PLP Government.

“People are sweating in their homes, unable to cook, unable to sleep, and for many it’s becoming a health risk. Most people here don’t have generators, and while the Government issues press releases, we are left in the dark, literally.

“Eleutherans are tired of excuses. We’re demanding action because reliable power isn’t a luxury. It is a basic necessity. We want reliable power, lower bills and a plan that actually works.” Ms Kelly shared one Eleutheran’s account of the power woes on the island. The resident pleaded for BPL to “do better with us, please” as she noted that constant power outages have been an issues for about four years.

“Listen, here in South Eleuthera, honestly, this is so bad with the power outage here in South Eleuthera. Yesterday morning, which was on Monday morning, we got up in the heat. Electricity was off. Getting ready for work in the heat. Going to work, putting in your eight hours and coming back home, you’re coming back home and going home to the heat. You can’t even cook. You can’t even rest,” they said.

“And listen here, when you knock off, lights off all night. Last night, power was off from 2pm and, as a matter of fact, yesterday morning. I left for work at 10am. BPL was still off. Yesterday, two o’clock when it come back on, it went back off. When I reach home at six o’clock, BPL was still off until exactly 12am that morning, which is ridiculous.

“No rest for work. Can’t do nothing at home. And I am talking about this is so bad in South Eleuthera. This is so frustrating. This is so mind disturbing, like, where all of this is coming from? Every year. It’s the same thing every year, and nothing can be fixed. The same problem, power outage, everyday. Power outage, power outage,” they continued.

“We’re going through this for the past four years now. Every summer, we going through the same thing. And I feel like this is just so bad for the people in South Eleuthera. This is ridiculous. Like we have to put up with this every year. We don’t have a choice but to put up with it. It’s like nobody we can go to, nobody we could go to and talk about this situation.

“Everybody’s telling us the same thing. Every year is going to get better, and every year is worse, worse, worse. Come on, Lord. Do better with South Eleuthera, man. We paying our electricity bill just like everybody else, and we want good service just like everybody else. Please look out for the people in South Eleuthera. Do better with us, please.”

Margarita Hill, Royalty’s Sweet Treats owner, told Tribune Business the constant outages have impacted her bakery. She also questioned why her bill has increased dramatically despite not using any more power than normal.

“They were cutting off electricity for hours,” Ms Hill said. “It doesn’t make sense. How could my bill increase if it’s off? How could it go higher? What would cause it to go higher? What are they doing? Are they guesstimating the bills? What are they doing? Are they reading the bills, actually reading our meters, or are they just guesstimating these bills?

“That’s another challenge. See, it’s one thing I have no electricity for hours on days. And then there’s another thing, when you get the bill and it’s double what it was the month before.”

BPL added that the Narrows Feeder in Harbour Island had to be opened following a trip of the rental generation units. “Additionally, we are aware of power-related issues impacting customers on mainland Eleuthera, specifically on the south feeder. Our teams are currently investigating this matter, and updates will be provided as soon as more information becomes available,” it said.