By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS have expressed their frustration after continuing prolonged power outages and water supply problems on both Abaco and Harbour Island.

The ongoing disruptions are severely impacting daily life, local commerce, and tourism, leading to calls for urgent government action.

Roscoe Thompson, chairman of the Marsh Harbour/Spring City Township, painted a grim picture of the current electricity situation. He pointed to a drastic reduction in available power generation capacity, questioning why only one or two of the island’s four 12-megawatt generators remain operational.

“What has happened that we’re down to one or two now? Why are the other two not operational? Have they been cannibalising parts from one to keep the other running?” he asked.

Mr Thompson criticised the government’s handling of power, saying, “This administration said they had the answers, but we’re no better off than we were four years ago.”

He detailed how outages in Marsh Harbour and surrounding communities last for hours at a time, with some residents enduring four to five hours in the dark.

These interruptions affect everything from ability to process credit card payments without standby generators to daily routines involving cooking and water supply.

“It’s frustrating that BPL does not provide clear communication or adhere to scheduled load shedding,” he added. Mr Thompson called for full transparency on the status of the Wilson City power station and urged the government to disclose exactly how many generators are functional and why repairs have been delayed.

On Harbour Island, Ricky Mackey, former Member of Parliament and the FNM candidate for North Eleuthera, described an infrastructure crisis at historic levels.

He said residents and businesses have been forced to bear extraordinary costs installing generators and water treatment systems—investments he argued should not be necessary.

“This is the worst it has ever been,” he said, recalling a massive demonstration last year that united residents across political and social lines, protesting the constant water and electricity failures.

Despite frequent government announcements about upgrades and new policies, Mr Mackey said the reality on the ground is bleak.

He said: “The water goes off every day for long periods in different parts of the island. We get notices about maintenance so often, yet the system remains unreliable.”

He said he personally had to replace major components on generators at his home and business multiple times within weeks - as have other businesses such as hotels and food stores.

Mr Mackey lamented the ongoing economic strain, saying: “When you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on generators, that’s money taken away from expanding your inventory or improving your business.”

Mr Mackey called on the government to make multi-million-dollar investments to bring stability to the islands’ essential services, stressing that Harbour Island and North Eleuthera contribute significantly to the national economy through tourism, agriculture, and fisheries.

He criticised officials who deny or downplay the crisis, saying: “Don’t claim we don’t have a problem when everyone knows we do. We deserve better treatment and real results.”

The Harbour Island power plant, upgraded in 2015, required a complete replacement of generators less than three years later, underscoring ongoing challenges in maintaining infrastructure. Recently, a compromised roof at the power station caused a total island blackout during heavy rain, an incident Mr Mackey said was unacceptable given the frequent maintenance notices issued.

Last night, Bahamas Power and Light said its teams were working “diligently” working on the issue. 

The company said “inclement weather” caused an interruption to power on Friday at 7.50am, with power restored “within 35 minutes”. The company said on Saturday, a fault on a unit at the Wilson City Power Station reduced generation by 3-4MW, resulting in load shedding. 

In a statement, the company said: “Crews immediately initiated repairs, a process that involves engine cooldown, inspection, disassembly, bearing replacement and gradual load testing. By 10am on Sunday, August 10, power had been restored to 80 percent of affected areas, with final restoration completed in Dundas Town at 1.15pm.”

The company said to units are in service, with two others undergoing repairs. One of those is expected to return to service within ten days, and the other is undergoing an overhaul due to be completed by mid-September. 

BPL added that three Caterpillar generating units have been bought - for Man-O-War Cay, Hope Town and Guana Cay. The Man-O-War installation began on Saturday, with the others to follow its completion. 

BPL said delays in repairs had been caused by “factors beyond our control”, including Hurricane Dorian and pandemic supply chain issues.