By Dreandrea Hamilton

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — Plenty of grocery bargains can still be found across the Turks and Caicos Islands, with some staple items selling for less than a dollar. But the latest Breadbasket Price Report reveals a persistent reality for consumers: where you live continues to play a major role in what you pay at the checkout counter.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Fair Competition’s May 2026 Breadbasket Report highlights dozens of products surveyed between May 1 and May 13, tracking prices across Providenciales, South Caicos, Grand Turk and North Caicos.

The good news for consumers is that several everyday items remain available at remarkably low prices. The survey found purified water for as little as 60 cents, ramen noodles for 60 cents, Vienna sausage for $1.25, evaporated milk for $1.40, vegetable oil for $3.35 and bananas for $1.10 at some Providenciales retailers.

But when prices rise, they rise dramatically.

The report suggests that the further consumers move from the country’s primary shipping hub at South Dock, Providenciales, the more likely they are to encounter significantly higher grocery prices.

Among the most eye-catching examples was a package of adult diapers selling for $46 at a North Caicos store, one of the highest prices recorded in the entire survey. Baby diapers were also listed at $46 in another North Caicos location.

North Caicos shoppers were additionally paying as much as $25.50 for a 20-pound bag of Riceland long grain rice, $23 for another rice product and $15 for bottled water, all among the highest prices flagged by the Department.

South Caicos showed similar trends. The report found leg quarters selling for $30, drumsticks reaching $30, eggs priced as high as $30 per tray, diapers at $27.50, rice at $26, and bottled water climbing to $27.50.

Meanwhile, Grand Turk residents faced their own premium prices, including shredded cheddar cheese at $27.99, bottled water at $20, cooking oil approaching $10, and rice products exceeding $16 per package.

The Department identifies the two lowest prices for each item in green and the two highest prices in red, making it easier for consumers to compare costs and shop strategically.

Providenciales supermarkets continued to dominate the low-price category, with Graceway Smart, Graceway IGA, GK Retail, GK Wholesale, Sunny Foods and other major retailers frequently appearing among the lowest-cost options.

The findings underscore a challenge long familiar to residents: transportation costs, shipping logistics and island geography continue to influence the price of food and household goods throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands.

For consumers, the lesson from May’s report is straightforward. Comparison shopping remains one of the best tools for saving money, but geography still matters — and often determines how much families ultimately spend to fill their grocery carts.

By Deandrea Hamilton

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — Electricity customers across the Turks and Caicos Islands are being warned to brace for higher power bills in the coming weeks as Pelican Energy TCI says turmoil in global fuel markets is driving up the cost of generating electricity.

In a statement issued on May 28, the utility advised that international fuel prices have risen sharply due to instability in parts of the Middle East and the resulting pressure on global energy supply chains. The company says those higher fuel costs are expected to impact the fuel factor rate applied to electricity bills beginning in June and July.

According to Pelican Energy, the fuel factor rate is projected to increase from approximately 17.5 cents to 31.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, an increase that could add between $15 and $140 per month to residential electricity bills, depending on how much electricity a household consumes.

The company stressed that the increase is not tied to its base electricity rate and does not represent a decision by the utility to raise prices.

“The projected increase is not the result of a change to the electric rate (base rate) or utility pricing decisions but is the direct result of international fuel price movements beyond the utility’s control,” the company explained.

Pelican noted that fuel used to generate electricity is purchased in advance to ensure a reliable power supply. Because of that purchasing cycle, changes in global oil prices can take several weeks before they are reflected on customer bills.

The timing is particularly challenging for consumers because the increase coincides with the start of the summer season, when higher temperatures typically lead to increased electricity use for air conditioning and cooling.

Pelican President Devon Cox acknowledged the impact the higher costs will have on households and businesses already facing cost-of-living pressures.

“We recognize the challenges that rising fuel prices place on households and businesses, particularly at a time when cost-of-living concerns remain front of mind. We do not take these impacts lightly and remain committed to working closely with the TCI Government, our key stakeholders, and our customers.”

The utility says it is simultaneously accelerating investments in renewable energy projects aimed at reducing long-term dependence on imported fuel.

Cox pointed to several initiatives now underway, including utility-scale renewable energy installations in Providenciales, new microgrid developments on sister islands following the successful completion of the North Caicos solar-plus-battery project, and the continued expansion of rooftop solar partnerships.

“These investments are expected to significantly reduce reliance on imported fuel over time and help stabilize energy prices for our customers,” Cox said.

South Caicos customers are expected to experience the higher fuel factor rate first, while customers on other islands will likely see the increase reflected in bills issued at the end of July.

Pelican is encouraging residents and businesses to monitor their electricity usage closely, take advantage of energy conservation measures and use the company’s online bill estimation tools to better understand how the higher fuel factor could affect monthly expenses.

For consumers, the message is straightforward: while the increase may appear on local electricity bills, Pelican Energy says the cause lies thousands of miles away in global energy markets.

Turks and Caicos, June 1, 2026 – No one thought that a premier who had been so fiercely defended by supporters and so widely celebrated across the Caribbean for helping to transform the Turks and Caicos Islands would one day be looking out at the country he once led from behind prison walls.

Yet that is the reality confronting former Premier Michael Misick following Friday’s sentencing in the long-running corruption prosecution that has shaped political discourse in the Turks and Caicos Islands for nearly two decades.

Before the transactions, decisions and conduct that ultimately led to convictions, Michael Misick was widely regarded as one of the most influential political figures in modern Turks and Caicos history. During his tenure as leader of the Progressive National Party government, the country experienced unprecedented levels of investment, development and international attention. To supporters, he was a visionary and relentless leader. To critics, he became the face of a government whose actions ultimately triggered allegations of corruption, abuse of power and failures of accountability that reverberated throughout the territory.

On Friday, those competing narratives collided in dramatic fashion.

As Justice Rajendra Narine handed down prison sentences, the atmosphere inside the courtroom reportedly shifted from anticipation to shock. Supporters stood silently. Some wept. Others struggled to absorb a reality that had long seemed possible in theory but distant in practice.

The reality of the ruling became apparent almost immediately.

Armed police officers remained inside the courtroom as arrangements were made to take the convicted men into custody. Rather than exiting through the front of the Supreme Court, Michael Misick, attorney Thomas “Chal” Misick and former Cabinet Minister McAllister Hanchell were escorted from the building through a rear exit, avoiding what could have become a highly charged public scene outside the courthouse.

By Friday evening, the three men were behind bars.

For many residents, that was the moment the significance of the ruling truly settled in. Convictions had been handed down. Appeals had been argued. Court appearances had stretched across years. But imprisonment was different. It transformed a legal saga into an immediate and undeniable reality.

The sentence imposed on Michael Misick was also shaped by factors extending far beyond the offences themselves.

Justice Narine revealed that he began with a starting point of eight years’ imprisonment for each of the bribery convictions before weighing aggravating and mitigating factors. The court ultimately reduced that starting point by five years after considering a range of circumstances, including the extraordinary delay in the proceedings, a finding that Misick’s constitutional right to be tried within a reasonable time had been breached, the 339 days he spent in custody in Brazil during extradition proceedings, his lack of previous convictions, years of public service, family circumstances and medical evidence presented by the defence.

After those reductions were applied, the court imposed sentences of three years on Counts One and Three and five years on Count Two. The additional credit for the 339 days spent in Brazilian custody further reduced the effective sentence to two years and 16 days on Counts One and Three and four years and 26 days on Count Two.

The judge’s reasoning was nevertheless clear. Despite the mitigating factors, the seriousness of the offences, the abuse of public trust and the need to uphold standards of good governance required custodial sentences. In essence, the court concluded that penalties short of imprisonment would fail to adequately reflect the gravity of the conduct.

The outcome is unprecedented in modern Turks and Caicos history. Never before has a former premier of the territory been ordered to serve a custodial prison sentence.

The political and family dimensions make the development even more extraordinary.

Michael Misick and Chal Misick are brothers of Premier Charles Washington Misick. All three convicted men were prominent figures associated with the Progressive National Party administration at the centre of the corruption allegations. While Premier Charles Washington Misick has consistently remained separate from the proceedings and has never been implicated in the case, Friday’s events nevertheless placed him in the unusual position of leading the country while two brothers begin serving prison terms.

Yet even as three years long prison sentences await the men, we learn the legal battle is not over.

Sources indicate appeals could be filed as early as Monday, with requests for bail expected to accompany those efforts. It remains unclear whether the challenges will focus on the convictions, the sentences imposed, or both.

What is clear is that after nearly two decades of investigations, hearings, trials, judgments and appeals, the story is still being written.