By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Board member for the company charged with transforming New Providence’s electricity grid last night said “everything is progressing well” amid speculation one of its key partners has halted work.

Anthony Ferguson, CFAL (Colina Financial Advisors) principal, refuted suggestions that Pike Electrical, which is supplying the manpower, materials and expertise to upgrade Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) transmission and distribution network, had initiated a temporary pause as it waits for all necessary agreements to be concluded.

Asserting that he “doesn’t see any issues or challenges” for Pike’s relationship with Bahamas Grid Company, the entity to which the New Providence grid’s assets have been transferred, he confirmed that “one outstanding matter” is expected to be resolved before the week ends but declined to provide any details. Other contacts, too, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an agreement is supposed to be signed on Friday.

Mr Ferguson, who sits on Bahamas Grid Company’s Board together with Christina Alston, BPL’s chair, and members of Island Grid, its management/operating partner, pointed to the number of Pike bucket trucks seen around New Providence performing the required upgrades since summer 2024, along with the volume of electrical equipment such as sub-struts and wires that has been imported to support the effort.

Asked whether Bahamas Grid Company, Island Grid and Pike Electrical, as well as the Government, have signed all necessary agreements to cement their relationship, the CFAL chief replied: “There’s one outstanding matter that should be concluded this week but all the other substantive agreements have been executed.

“There’s one item outstanding that we expect to be concluded this week. We fully expect it to be done by the end of the week. There’s always give and take in negotiations, but everything is progressing well. I don’t see any issues or challenges.”

Mr Ferguson said the “outstanding matter” has “nothing to do” with the relationships between the parties overseeing New Providence’s electrical grid transformation, adding that “all of them [agreements] have been signed”. He continued: “It is just one item that has got to get done. I can’t really say [what it is], but hopefully it will be concluded by the end of the week.”

Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday tipped this paper to what they alleged was a pull-out or work stoppage by Pike Electrical as it pushes to obtain all necessary agreements to solidify its status within the next two weeks. However, this newspaper’s photographer obtained photos of multiple Pike trucks and other vehicles at their western New Providence meeting and mobilisation point.

Still, increasingly fevered speculation was mounting on social media last night amid claims “Pike gone” with photos being circulated of an empty site where electrical equipment to facilitate the New Providence grid’s upgrade had allegedly been stored previously. 

It was suggested, though, that the “outstanding matter” may relate to the planned transfer of BPL staff to Bahamas Grid Company and Pike given that their existing industrial agreements could act as an obstacle to effecting this.

Bahamas Grid Company, on its website, said that as of January 18, 2025, it has set 181 new electrical distribution poles on New Providence to ensure the delivery of reliable energy to homes and businesses, as well as replaced 58,000 wires with newer cables that “can efficiently carry more power”.

It added that it has already spent 1,500 hours on emergency work to help BPL respond to outages and restore power, and installed 47 IntelliRupters island-wide to help isolate problems and confine outages to specific areas. And some 49 street lights have also been replaced and upgraded.

“Bahamas Grid Company’s first-year goal is two-fold: To help reduce the frequency and duration of outages in New Providence when requested by BPL in a way that all Bahamians can see the difference,” it said. “And invest in New Providence’s grid system and strengthen it so that it is properly sized to support our nation’s economy and population.

“After the first year, Bahamas Grid Company will continue to manage the transmission system, distribution system and sub-stations on an ongoing basis to ensure system reliability, affordability, resiliency and authenticity.”

Bahamas Grid Company and its management firm, Island Grid, paired $100m in bond debt capital raised from Bahamian investors with $30m in equity also raised locally to complete the $130m in financing required to complete “foundational upgrades” to the transmission and distribution network it now controls.

Eric Pike, Island Grid’s principal, also heads Pike Electrical. The arrival of Pike-branded bucket trucks last summer signalled their intention to make aggressive progress given that the bond offering document said a 2024 third quarter start is critical to meet the initial 2025 second quarter completion.

The Government, via BPL, has a minority 40 percent ownership interest in Bahamas Grid Company in exchange for contributing New Providence electricity grid assets valued at $100m, whereas the private investors who put up the $30m equity have 60 percent majority control.

Bahamas Grid Company is forecasting that its grid improvements will generate between $10m-$30m in annual savings per year at the start of its initial 25-year term through “less line loss and reduced outages”. It will also install an additional 172 mega watts (MW) of grid carrying capacity between Clifton Pier and the rest of New Providence, and is promising grid operating costs and consumer bills will be reduced.

The joint venture is pledging a “reduction in frequency and duration of large-scale outages, enabled by the substation protection schemes”. It is also promising “fewer appliance issues stemming from the distribution upgrades, which will reduce voltage fluctuations on parts of the island that are most impacted by them”.

There will also be “less line/voltage loss, or more power delivered with the same fuel use, resulting from the transmission upgrades. The ongoing cost savings associated with this benefit will sustain the residential utility bill reductions beyond year one”.

“Strains on a transmission and distribution system arise when too much power is pushed through equipment that is not sized to handle the load,” Bahamas Grid Company said.

“As such, when there is a new significant generation source or high-usage customer being proposed to interconnect with the system, Bahamas Grid Company and BPL will work together to ensure that the new customer load or new generation capacity adequately pays into the system for the needed upgrades.

“This dual BPL-Bahamas Grid Company approach enables the much-needed infusion of capital into New Providence’s utility transmission and distribution infrastructure and support systems, as well as the ability to systematically plan for future maintenance needs – both of which are prerequisites to our nation’s ability to introduce cleaner generation sources and customers on to our system.”

The proposed Heads of Agreement with the Government will allow Bahamas Grid Company, in addition to the 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh) it is set to receive from all customer billings, to levy a “one-time interconnection fee or demand charge” for “new generation and/or large customer loads” added to the grid.