A contract signing ceremony was held between Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Thursday.

The new deal is worth $90 million dollars and is expected to modernize the grid and systems at the power company.

During his remarks at the ceremony Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis said, “for years customers have called for faster outage response, clearer billing information and more reliable service. These concerns are now being addressed through tools that bring our energy system into the modern era.”

Mr. Davis also revealed that $3.7 million will strengthen institution capacity at the BPL, while $4.4 million will support administration and oversight of the loan.

According to BPL Executive Chairman, Christine Alston digital meters are expected to come onstream in late 2026. She said, “the reason that seems like a long time is the one of the issues that we have is from a communications standpoint. We need to make sure that we can see Mayaguana and Inagua as clearly as we can see New Providence, and that’s gonna require some technology investment, not only in terms of the research of the actual technology but making sure that it performs in these circumstances.”

Also on hand was IDB Country Representative, Shirley Gayle. She assured the strong partnership of the bank as this works unfolds. “The IDB reiterates its commitment to walking the path with you. We’re walking the path with your service provider. We’re walking the path with the government, with the Ministry of Finance and all the other stakeholders involved. Together we’re not just improving service, we are shaping a new era.”

The amortization period of the loan is twenty five years with a five and a half year moratorium on repayment.