National

If We Can’t Eradicate, We Will At Least Limit Load Shedding

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – About 30 percent of residents in western and southwest New Providence experienced power outages over the weekend due to significant load on two of their primary feeders.

Published

6 months ago

May 22, 2024

Megan Shepherd

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – About 30 percent of residents in western and southwest New Providence experienced power outages over the weekend due to significant load on two of their primary feeders. However, for the wider community, the darkness was sure to come the following day as load shedding began around 2 p.m., affecting 30 percent of their just under 90,000 customers for two-hour increments.

Senior Corporate Communications Manager at Bahamas Power and Light, Arnette Ingraham, said load shedding resumed on Sunday afternoon as the unit was unable to come back on stream. Ingraham admits that dealing with extreme temperatures and the demand it puts on the aging infrastructure exposes vulnerabilities. She says they are now making sure they have sufficient capacity to meet the summer demand.

The Department of Meteorology issued advisories related to extreme temperatures in recent days, forcing many residents to stay indoors. This, coupled with new developments and residents adding to the load of BPL, has many questioning whether the power company will be able to sustain the growing demands.