By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) confirmed Abaco residents will receive a 50 per cent rebate on the base rate of their electricity bills for the next billing cycle.

In a press release , the company clarified  CEO Toni Seymour’s initial announcement on Thursday that Eleuthera, Long Island and Cat Island were included in the relief initiative.

“The omission of Abaco during the announcement was unintentional, and BPL wishes to assure Abaco residents that are included in this relief initiative,” the statement read.

“We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of all our customers as we continue to work toward stabilizing and improving power generation across the Family Islands. The rebate is a gesture of our commitment to being responsive to customer needs and accountable for the service challenges we are working to resolve.”

While some Family Island residents expressed appreciation for the initiative, Tribune Business reported that others believe the rebate is inadequate given ongoing power supply challenges. 

On Thursday, Ms Seymour apologized to Family Island customers who have been experiencing extended outages due to power disruptions, generation shortfalls, or other reasons.

She added BPL is “working diligently” to stabilize the Family Island networks as quickly and safely possible.

The CEO said approximately $30m was allocated for upgrades across the Family Islands in preparation for the summer demand, noting that this amount does not cover all the upgrades needed to reach their desired service level.