By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A senior Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) executive yesterday said it has done “extensive” maintenance work in the southern Bahamas prior to hurricane season but efforts are still ongoing.

Anthony Christie, BPL’s chief operating officer, said the state-owned energy provider has replaced more than 70 old or damaged poles in Inagua as well as increased the amount of equipment and trucks needed to reinforce the transmission and distribution (T&D) network on the Family Islands.

“Standard for BPL is hurricane preparedness as we approach summer, so we would make sure we have enough spares and equipment available. Of course, all the generation capacity or units should be online,” said Mr Christie.

“We did extensive work in the southern Bahamas. Last month, we would have installed over 70 poles in Inagua, meaning we replaced old or rotten poles. We have done extensive pole replacements in Abaco and different islands as needed.

“Tree trimming is ongoing. We made sure equipment is on the ground. A lot of new trucks and fleet are there to support reinforcement of the T&D network. So all of this work is ongoing to date”

Mr Christie said BPL is monitoring Tropical Storm Erin, and teams on the ground in the southern Bahamas are “bracing themselves” to ensure they can respond to any impact.

“As we see Hurricane Erin approaching, we anticipate by Sunday we’ll know exactly what is going to happen to it, where it’s going to turn or come more toward the south. And again, our teams are just bracing themselves and making sure that they’re able to respond to any incident that impacts them, flooding or pole damage or otherwise,” said Mr Christie.

“As a storm approaches, we tend to up the protocol in terms of the meetings and making sure the resources are available. New Providence will indeed support all the islands as needed in order to make sure that, when we do have an impact, we’re able to bounce back or restore as quickly as possible.”

According to the National Hurricane Centre, Tropical Storm Erin is moving “quickly” westward across the Atlantic and is predicted to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Thursday. There are currently no coastal watches or warnings in effect for the storm.

“Erin could move close enough to the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend to produce some impacts on those islands. However, the magnitude of those impacts is still not known and interests there should continue to monitor the progress of this storm,” said the National Hurricane Centre.

“There even greater uncertainty in that impacts might occur in portions of the Greater Antilles, The Bahamas, the east coast of the United States, and Bermuda next week.”