BY ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

CALLS for urgent action over The Bahamas’ worsening electricity crisis intensified on Friday as Killarney’s MP and the former Prime Minister highlighted the growing economic cost of prolonged outages in downtown Nassau and Grand Cay.

Michela Barnett-Ellis described the electricity situation as “simply unacceptable”, warning that businesses are losing revenue and productivity while the country’s tourism product is also being affected. The MP said the crisis had become particularly damaging in downtown Nassau, where businesses have been grappling with an extended outage since Wednesday afternoon.

“I know this area very well, and I know how important it is to our economy and our tourism product,” Ms Barnett-Ellis said.

She said it was frustrating to watch the capital’s commercial and tourism centre being adversely affected by the electricity crisis. Ms Barnett-Ellis questioned how businesses could continue operating when they were being forced to organise their working hours around BPL’s load-shedding schedule.

“Businesses are now having to plan their operations around when they are scheduled to have electricity,” she said. “This is the heart of our capital city. Cruise passengers walk these streets. Bahamians work here. Businesses pay rent, wages, utilities, and taxes here. They cannot continue absorbing lost sales, damaged equipment, spoiled inventory, and disrupted operations because of an unreliable electricity supply.”

Her comments came as Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) continued efforts to restore electricity to downtown, Shirley Street, East Hill Street and surrounding areas following an underground cable fault.

BPL said early Friday morning that technicians were attempting to locate an underground cable fault that had affected power supply in downtown and Shirley Street since Wednesday afternoon.

The company introduced a rotational power supply schedule from 8am Friday, initially indicating that downtown and Shirley Street would be re-energised while Fort Charlotte was taken offline. However, by Friday afternoon, BPL said the repair work had exceeded the previously established window and Fort Charlotte would remain offline to avoid overloading the circuit.

The prolonged outage was further complicated by excavation work on Lewis Street on Friday. BPL said crews from Bahamas Grid Company and BPL began excavating at 2pm to access the underground fault, but work was briefly suspended after an underground water pipe was ruptured. Water & Sewerage Corporation technicians subsequently repaired the damaged pipe, allowing excavation to resume.

By 11.58pm Friday, BPL reported that crews had uncovered the cable fault and successfully spliced and secured the line. Work was suspended for the night and was expected to resume at sunrise.

Ms Barnett-Ellis also broadened her criticism beyond New Providence, highlighting the situation in Little Grand Cay, Abaco.

“Grand Cay, in the constituency of North Abaco, has reportedly been without electricity for two weeks,” she said. “Two weeks without power.”

She questioned what had caused an outage of that duration, what resources had been deployed and when residents could expect electricity to be restored. BPL’s Northern Regional Manager Marvin Green said the utility had been working towards restoring power to Little Grand Cay through a replacement rental generation unit.

On Thursday, Mr Green said the target was to have the unit completed, tested and shipped by Friday, with hopes of restoring power during the weekend. However, BPL said on Friday night that the replacement generator had been fully load-tested and would be transported by barge to Little Grand Cay. The voyage from Grand Bahama was expected to take between 14 and 18 hours, placing the anticipated arrival on Sunday afternoon.

By Sunday morning, however, BPL said the vessel’s departure had been delayed because additional time was required to safely load and secure the generator and associated equipment. The vessel was then expected to depart Grand Bahama late Sunday afternoon, with the generator now anticipated to arrive in Little Grand Cay early this  morning, August 24.

Ms Barnett-Ellis said the scale of the crisis warranted bringing in outside expertise and resources if necessary.

“If the resources and technical capacity required to stabilize our electricity supply are not readily available locally, then there ought to be an urgent effort to bring in outside assistance,” she said. “There’s no shame in seeking additional expertise and resources when the circumstances demand it.”

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis similarly framed the electricity situation as a national economic crisis, using a personal experience at a barber shop to illustrate the impact on small businesses. Dr Minnis said he was getting a haircut on Friday when the power went off midway through the service.

“Here it is, I’m halfway cut, now I can’t take off my hat,” he said.

He said the experience underscored the wider challenges facing small businesses, including barbers, beauticians and restaurants whose revenue stops when electricity is interrupted.

“Imagine what the small businessmen are going through,” Dr Minnis said. “Think of the beautician perming hair. Their power is going off yet, no money is coming in.”

He also pointed to the wider financial burden created by outages, including employee wages, National Insurance Board contributions, BPL bills, spoiled restaurant inventory and household appliances damaged by power interruptions.

“Where is the money coming from?” he asked, questioning whether affected businesses and homeowners would receive compensation.

Dr Minnis also called on the government to communicate more directly with the public, arguing that the situation had evolved into a national crisis requiring regular updates and reassurance.

“We are experiencing a national crisis,” he said. “You must offer the people hope. You must offer resolution. You must offer comfort. You must offer reassurance.”

The electricity problems were not confined to downtown Nassau and Little Grand Cay. On Saturday, BPL reported two separate surges at the Wilson City Power Station in Abaco that resulted in significant losses from the grid and affected Central Abaco and surrounding cays.

Power was restored to the majority of affected customers later Saturday evening, with Murphy Town subsequently fully re-energised by Sunday morning.

The utility also reported outages in several New Providence communities over the weekend, including Westridge, High Vista, Palmetto Village, Killarney, Eastern Road, Marathon and Highbury Park.

For Ms Barnett-Ellis, the growing list of affected communities underscores the need for a broader response rather than isolated repairs.

“We cannot seriously talk about revitalizing downtown, strengthening our tourism product, supporting Bahamian businesses, and growing our economy, while failing to reliably provide one of the most basic necessities of modern life,” she said.

“Whether it’s downtown Nassau, Western New Providence, Grand Cay, or anywhere else in The Bahamas, reliable electricity is not a luxury; it is a necessity, and every available resource should be mobilized to fix this crisis.”