What Has BPL Cost Bahamians in the Last 5 Years?

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – For years Bahamians have felt the cost of BPL at the breaker box through high bills, fuel charges and frequent outages.

However, there’s another cost, involving the money the government has had to put behind the country’s electricity provider.

When the Davis administration took office in September 2021, it said it inherited more than half a billion dollars in BPL debt.

Government and independent audit documents show $255.3 million in legacy debt, and interest obligations related to BPL had been taken over by the government.

Then came the fuel crisis in 2022, when government agreed to support BPL’s fuel costs as international energy prices soared.

By February 2023, government confirmed about $50 million had been advanced to BPL through a $100 million loan facility.

Officials stressed it was a loan and not a subsidiary, with the money expected to be recovered through higher fuel charges.

Despite this, the borrowing did not stop there.

Ministry of Finance debt records show BPL’s borrowing from the government stood at $45 million in 2021.

By June 2022, it had risen to $85 million; a year later it was $189.5 million, and by June 2024, it stood at $178.5 million.

The numbers show some fluctuation, but the overall direction has been up.

By March 2025, BPL owed the government about $170.3 million, and by the end of the 2025/26 Fiscal Year, that figure had climbed to a massive $381.9 million.

That means BPL’s borrowing from government had increased by about $337 million compared to 2021.

However, that is not the only bill hanging over the power company.

In 2024, Minister of Energy, Jobeth Coleby-Davis, said BPL needs another $500 million in capital investment to modernize its aging generation transmission and distribution system.

Put that beside the more than $500 million in legacy debt, and the government’s own estimate puts the overall challenge at more than $1 billion.

The question now is whether the energy reforms underway can finally turn that around, as the government says the reforms have already produced $40 million in fuel savings in 2024, with projected savings of $90 million in 2025 and $125.6 million annually by the end of 2026.

However, for taxpayers, the bigger question is, how much more will it take to fix BPL, and how much of that bill will ultimately fall on the public?