There is enough roof space on almost every commercial building to provide 100% of the power to the building below. Most homes can power 90 - 100% of their energy. Battery storage technology has been around since 1950 and is state of the art today. It can power any home or business. If you have a $500 average bill you pay the utility $30,000.00 in 5 years. If you have aan average $700 bill you pay $42,000.00 in 5 years. This is more than enough to buy a battery system. Even with a 8-10% return it far exceeds the 0.75% rate of banks for a deposit of the same amount. Buying a solar system is like buying a generator, you buy you power in one go and produce it over the design life of the equipment. The only difference is a solar system has renewable fuel so there is no backend costs of buying diesel/propane. The solar fuel generator (PV panel) has a warrantied performance of 25 years (90% nameplate wattage at 25 years)

The electrical grid is at the point of collapse. Adding new shiny generators to our Transmission and Distribution network is like putting a new engine in a 1960 car...a la Cuba. If the engines are old...imagine the transformers and switchgear...all critical components for electricity to work. Would a surgeon install a new heart in a body with weak, clogged arteries? Thats what we are doing. Distributed generation is installing a solar sytem in the home, directly tied to the new or updated electrical system and it provides freedom and autonomy from unsustainable monopolies

Most residential systems are battery storage where the power triangle is inverted and the utiility is a backup on overcast days and only about 10kwh are purchased. The homes generator can be turned off and becomes the backup to the backup. This is both an economic advantage as well aas an environmental one. Solar businesses sell systems on economics first...once you do the math keeping with the traditional power regime is fools gold. Wait until the bec legacy debt is added to your bill and vat rises to the originally posted amount or higher. Being accurately informed is the foundation for debate and the way forward.

There are many innaccurate points being stated. Solar with battery storage on a MW scale is currently cheaper as a cost per watt than diesel generation. 10,000sf homes in Nassau are being run 24/7 on standard battery technology. Lithium iron phosphate is a completely safe solution to pure lithium and is commercially available. A transition to renewables is where you simply invert the power triangle over time...diesel becomes the backup to primary solar battery energy storage systems. BESS would immediately provide dispatchable power to the grid in lieu of load shedding.

1. If the majority of devices had nothing in them how was power being illegally taken?

2. Has an investigaion been done on bec billing practices? That may have greater repercussions.

With kickbacks nothing is feasible and that is how we got to our regressed state as a nation. The Government is simply a reflection of the people, so when the people decide to personally stop tipping, the public servants will follow suit. As long as their is a tipper, there will be a receiver. Remember when tipping used to be a reward for excellent service!

The average 300W solar panels weighs 60lbs and covers an area of 21 Square feet which equals 2.3 pounds per square foot. A 200 lb man standing on a roof with his feet under his shoulders exerts approx. 200 lbs per square foot. There is no roof stamped by the MOW that would not carry the load of a solar array and more. In the U.S., Standard home roof trusses carry solar panels and snow loads on top...so we have a very large safety margin in the Bahamas.

1. Since the passing of the 2015 Electricity Act, all forms of solar are legal (grid tied, off grid and grid interactive. Simply log on BPL's website and look at SSRG Forms rules and FAQs which provide all the information you need to know to add solar.

2. There are many unscrupulous solar installers who have little to no experience and even less business ethics. You will find there are about 3 Bahamian legitimate, qualified and experienced solar companies operating in Nassau who can design, install and service solar systems. Look for companies who are authorized Distributors of the products they sell and check the manufacturers website to confirm their claims.

3. The ROI of a Grid tie system is 18% at current rate of $0.27 cents/KWh. The ROI of Battery based systems are 9%, not taking into account the appliances that don't burn up because you now have a high power quality coming from the inverter.

4. Maintenance costs usually equal 1 months savings if you go for a quarterly service.

5. If a home has an average $800 per month electric bill, that is $48,0000 in five years. If you left $48K on a fixed deposit you would get less than 1% interest. If you spent that amount on a battery based solar system you would have a $50/mo electric bill, have clean power, power during blackouts and an ROI of at least 8%.

6. If your home uses less than $400 per month in electricity it is not worth buying a solar system for savings sake alone. If you however need backup power and constant clean power then a small 4 KW solar system will cost you under $20K and give you piece of mind and slow your meter down whilst it sits there all day long protecting your appliances

I recently witnessed the hospitality and generosity of a local AirBnB operator trying to make eends meet. These are the true Ambassadors of the Bahamas, who seek to leave their guests with a memorable stay and with a good impression of the Bahamian people, whilst giving them good value fort their money. The government needs to downsize and get out of the way of the bahamian people and stop hindering the amazing spirit that exists, but has been trampled down for too many years. There is not a single hard working Bahamian that ever thinks "what can the government do for me today?" But there are many who will sell there soul for a red plate.

There are 5 massive, highly maintained generators that show up at Potters Cay dock every day, seven days a week...why not buy cheap power from the cruise ships? Oh yeah, we can't figure out or afford to get a plug run to potters cay....just like the generators we paid for at BEC that sat waiting for a plug for 3 weeks. So many solutions...so many unqualified leaders for so many years. Lets demand this time that the Minister of Energy be an Electrical Engineer with a PhD and not another barrister. Sorry, forgot that Bahamians that get educated in foreign lands are tantamount to second class citizens, like their foreign educators, (who ironically provided all the engineering skills that took us out of the stone age... until we kicked them all out and settled with the dark age)