By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

North Andros businesses yesterday said hours-long power outages are worsening an already weak economy, with one retailer losing refrigerated stock while the island's Chamber of Commerce warned some firms "can't take much more".

Darin Bethel, president of the Andros Chamber of Commerce, said businesses across the island continue to grapple with frequent electricity interruptions that are disrupting operations, increasing costs and frustrating owners who often receive outage notifications only after the power has already gone.

"Throughout Andros we're experiencing regular and consistent power outages," said Mr Bethel. "Most of the notices about pending outages come after the power has already gone off, making them largely ineffective.

“The whole idea of those notification groups was to give business owners enough warning to make adjustments - turn on generators, ensure they're serviced and prepare. Instead, businesses are being caught off guard by these outages.

“Businesses are now losing sales and revenue because of the regular power outages. Sometimes the outages also affect other utility services, leaving businesses without Internet or communications for periods of time because those systems are also running on temporary generators."

Among those affected was Latonya Rolle-Rodriguez, owner of Lan Crab Restaurant and Bar and a convenience store in North Andros, who said her retail operation was left without electricity for most of Tuesday.

"My store was without power from about 5am this morning until around 1pm this afternoon," she said. "I'm just hoping it doesn't go back off again because that's basically the whole day." She added that the prolonged outage has resulted in spoiled inventory. "I know all of my ice cream melted," said Mrs Rolle-Rodriguez.

Bahamas Power & Light (BPL), in a notice to customers, said an issue at the North Andros power station caused the loss of electricity supply to the area.

"Our technicians have advised that an issue at the North Andros power station led to the loss of power supply to North Andros," the utility said. "A team is currently working to restore power supply. A restoration window of at or before 5pm has been provided."

The utility apologised for the disruption and thanked customers for their patience while repairs were carried out.

Mr Bethel said the latest outages have renewed calls for an update on the long-promised replacement power station for North Andros, arguing that businesses had expected the project to be much further advanced by now.

"The community is very concerned because we were told years ago that a new power station would be built for North Andros," he said. "Agreements have been signed, but residents want an update. What's the delay? We were told this would be resolved within about 18 months, yet we still haven't seen a groundbreaking."

Mr Bethel argued that the continued uncertainty is placing additional pressure on an economy that was already struggling.

"Right now, North Andros is under tremendous economic strain. BAMSI is the island's largest employer, but many employees are financially stretched, and regular power outages only make matters worse," said Mr Bethel. "Businesses can only absorb so much."