National

Government Not Doing Enough About Power Issues

THE BAHAMAS – Amid ongoing electricity concerns in Grand Bahama and Eleuthera, the Free National Movement is placing the blame on the Davis administration.

Published

4 months ago

August 14, 2024

Berthony McDermott

THE BAHAMAS – Amid ongoing electricity concerns in Grand Bahama and Eleuthera, the Free National Movement is placing the blame on the Davis administration. The Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) is proposing a 6.3% base rate hike in electricity, which comes two years after the company received a 3.4% increase to the base rate. Despite this, party chairman Dr. Duane Sands believes the government isn’t doing enough to address the issue.

It follows protests on both islands. In Grand Bahama, Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, and West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Kingsley Smith were seen in attendance. However, Sands says instead of standing on the sidelines, they should take action.

Over in Eleuthera, scores of Harbour Island residents, dressed in white, marched along the streets of Dunmore Town to protest prolonged outages. In a statement, the Ministry of Energy announced that Eleuthera residents will receive a 50% rebate on the base rate for all residential and commercial customers for the month of July, which will be reflected in their August bills. The issue has been plaguing them for months, with residents complaining of multiple outages daily, which in some instances have affected their bottom lines.