Power Woes: Residents of Eastern New Providence Share Their Frustration

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Residents in Eastern New Providence were awakened by the heat early Tuesday morning, as their power was cut off following a fire ripping through a transformer at the Blue Hills Power Station.

The fire was reported shortly before 6AM this morning where two fire engines were dispatched to the scene.

Firefighters found the blaze confined to a 25 megawatt transformer in the Southwestern section of the property.

The outage was felt across several eastern communities, including Eastwood, Fox Hill, Elizabeth Estates, Winton and other surrounding areas.

Even though the fire was contained, residents say the disruption was anything but easy.

Resident –

“It was crucial during the summer. Now it’s the rainy season now, you ain’t feel it that much. But it’s still a disappointment, you know?

Resident – 

“Man some people they electrical stuff got messed up during that outage too you see, and plenty people ain’t even sleep comfortable.”

For some, this latest outage also opened the door to a much bigger conversation, with residents pointing fingers at the government.

The site manager of that company told investigators he suspects the fire may have been caused by a lightning strike. 

Tuesday afternoon, the station manager Kennard Whyms gave an update on the situation, saying they are still working to restore affected areas. 

Kenard Whyms – Station Manager, Blue Hills Power Station

“When this strike occurred, it actually created a fault on the system at the plant, causing the other units that were on load to come off load. We are in the process of stabilizing the system, so we’re almost back to regular state.”

Police and fire services say their investigation into the incident is ongoing.