#Nassau, 28 November, 2019 – Bahamas – Decades of short-term decision making, poor choices and in some instances, corruption, have brought Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) to its knees, Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis said in the House of Assembly today.
In
his contribution to the debate on the Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Bill,
2019, Prime Minister Minnis said that to comprehensively move forward and to
end the instability at BPL the expenditure of the past must be paid for and new
funds must be raised to ensure that power stays on.
“This
is the purpose of this Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Bill,” said Prime Minister
Minnis. “BPL has $321 million of legacy debt and it needs to raise millions
more for its future needs.”
The
Bill proposes to repeal the 2015 Act and facilitate the issuance of rate
reduction bonds.
The
Prime Minister acknowledged that no one likes new costs but said that as a
mature and independent democracy “we must be realistic as to how development
and progress take place.”
No
one wants the events of the past summer in New Providence to be repeated, he
said.
“For
that to be prevented we must invest heavily in new equipment, software and the
facilities of the future,” said Prime Minister Minnis.
“With
the addition of cleaner, cheaper fuel and new more efficient generators that
consume less energy it is expected that the cost of electricity will go down in
time. We are seeking to make the difficult decisions now to ensure better and
cheaper energy in the future for all Bahamians.”
Stabilizing
BPL is essential to ensuring the wellbeing of the Bahamian economy now and into
the future, said the Prime Minister.
The
Prime Minister noted that the high cost of electricity and BPL’s poor service
make quality service delivery more difficult for businesses. Too many Bahamians
have also lost appliances or equipment because of power outages, he added.
At
the heart of the problem, said Prime Minister Minnis, is that the
infrastructure at BPL is terribly inadequate.
“The
equipment is old, much of it older than the majority of Bahamians,” said the
Prime Minister. “Much of the equipment and infrastructure is way past its
usefulness. What compounds this problem is there has been inadequate
maintenance.”
In
addition to the equipment crisis, he said BPL has a financial crisis, forcing
the Government to step in to back BPL’s debt.
“Cash
strapped and burdened with debt; the structure of the energy supplier is
woefully inadequate for it to make the necessary long-term investments to
purchase and to maintain the equipment and resources to provide quality,
sustainable service,” said the Prime Minister.
Prime
Minister Minnis noted that after coming to office in 2017, this administration
commissioned in New Providence the construction of the largest single power
plant in the country’s history.
The
132-megawatt station is scheduled to come online next month, as part of a
broader energy strategy to add 200-plus megawatts of power to New Providence,
said the Prime Minister.
Release: Office of the Prime Minister
Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Photo Caption: Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis presenting on the Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Bill 2019 in the House of Assembly today.
(BIS Photos/Kemuel Stubbs)