Residents Take To Social Media To Express Outrage Over Blackouts

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Over the weekend, an hours-long blackout left many New Providence residents frustrated and angry.

The nightmare outages started on Friday, impacting generators at Princess Margaret Hospital, and it didn’t end there.

On Sunday, thousands of homes and businesses were without power or more than 10 hours, in some cases.

Just before 9 p.m. on Sunday, BPL released a statement saying they’d restored power to 65% of consumers in New Providence.

The situation prompted Bahamas Power and Light Director, Jeffery Davis, to release a statement confirming a lightning strike at its Ballou Hills power station caused an explosion that damaged a major circuit breaker, knocking out power to thousands.

With the Bahamas Department of Meteorology warning of triple‑digit heat indices, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

We took to social media, where frustrated citizens, and even new mothers fresh out of the hospital shared how they struggled through the humid weekend without electricity.

Facebookers and social media commentators didn’t hold back this weekend.

Dr. Ian Strachan called for an independent probe into BPL, while Xavier Knowles painted a picture of a city at a standstill.

Fashion designer Gillian Curry‑Williams reminded us this was more than inconvenience, and one new mother shared she had to sit in her car with her newborn just to keep cool.

The weekend outages have added to a growing list of blackouts in recent weeks, and it’s not just limited to the capital.

Major power cuts have also been reported in Abaco and Eleuthera.

Energy Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis has in the past characterized the blackouts as “growing pains.”