Bay Street Businesses Struggle Through Third Day of Power Outages

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – It’s now day three of power outages in Downtown Nassau, and for some businesses along Bay Street, the frustration is starting to boil over.

When our Delvardo Emmanuel and his cameraman revisited the busy tourist strip Friday, it was a mixed picture.

Some stores had their lights back on, while others were still in the dark, with operators trying to do whatever they could to keep business moving.

Ingrid Higgs operates I Dream of Sugar on Bay Street, and says after three days of power trouble, the darkness has become very frustrating.

Ingrid Higgs – Manager, I Dream of Sugar

“ We run a restaurant, a bar, a candy store, a vape store, and also a bag store, and we have no electricity. So, you know, even just the basic operation is not able to happen after three days.”

Meanwhile, as sales have slowed or stopped, the expenses haven’t.

Higgs says she’s still trying to keep her staff on the job and getting paid, even with little business coming through the door.

Also joining on the frustration is FNM Member of Parliament for Killarney, Michela Barnett-Ellis, who is calling for a more permanent solution for the power crisis.

Michela Barnett-Ellis – Member of Parliament, Killarney

“ This is now more than an irritant. You know, I’ve been talking about these power outages, especially in the west. We’re continuing to see long periods of outage in the west.

“This is something that they need to get a handle of and, you know, look at, do we have the resources? Do we have the materials needed to deal with this issue?”

Also for Barnett-Ellis, the location of these latest outages only adds to the concern.

She says Downtown Nassau isn’t just a shopping district, it’s a major hub for tourism, business and the courts, meaning when the power goes out, the impact spreads quickly.

Around 11AM Bahamas Power and Light released a statement saying teams are working to progressively restore power supply in affected areas while isolating the cause of the outage.

However, amid all the frustration, not everyone we spoke with was letting the blackouts get them down.

Longtime tourism entertainer Randy Deveaux had his own way of looking at the situation.

Randy Deveaux – Bay Street Entertainer

“ Thank God. And this blackout could be the blackout, but the light gonna come on, and it gonna be brighter. So thank God for life. Don’t blame the blackout. Just be stronger.”