Press Release
The Board of Directors of Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited (BPL) extends its sincere appreciation to the people of The Bahamas for their patience and understanding following Sunday’s unprecedented power outage across New Providence.
We recognise the significant hardship our customers are facing. The loss of electricity disrupts all aspects of daily life, including homes, hospitals, businesses, and essential services. We understand the frustration this event has caused.
Based on the technical information provided to the Board, the outage resulted from an extraordinary lightning strike at the Blue Hills Power Station. The force of the strike caused extensive damage at a critical point within the station, disrupting the interface between electricity generation and the transmission network.
Simply put, while the generation remained available, the damage prevented the safe transfer of power from the power station to the electrical grid. This critical connection, the point where generation and transmission integrate, is essential to delivering electricity to consumers throughout New Providence.
Whenever an event of this nature occurs, safety is our first priority. Restoration efforts cannot begin until teams determine that conditions are safe for personnel to work and that damaged equipment can be re-energised without creating additional risk to employees, the public, or the electrical system itself.
Once conditions are safe, restoration efforts begin, and crews work methodically until service is restored to all customers. This commitment guided every decision during Sunday’s response.
The Board recognises the exceptional dedication of BPL’s engineers, technicians, system controllers, line workers, managers, Call Center and support staff. Many worked over thirteen consecutive hours under challenging conditions. Others interrupted family commitments or assisted via telephone while on vacation.
Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to The Bahamas merit our deepest gratitude and respect.
Events like this are extremely rare. BPL’s power stations include grounding systems and lightning protection to safeguard critical infrastructure. However, no system can guarantee protection from every extreme natural event, especially one of this magnitude at a critical network point.
Although this incident was extraordinary, it presents an opportunity to improve.
The Board has directed management to conduct a comprehensive post-incident review to identify lessons learned and recommend improvements. This review will assess physical protection systems, operational procedures, restoration strategies, network sectionalizing, and ways to strengthen grid resilience and accelerate restoration after major disturbances.
Each significant event is an opportunity to strengthen our utility. We will apply all lessons from this incident to improve reliability for our customers.
We acknowledge concerns about public communications during the outage. Customers deserve timely, accurate, and transparent information during major interruptions. The Board has instructed management to review communications to ensure future updates are more frequent, clearer, and better reflect restoration progress.
The Board remains committed to supporting ongoing investments to modernise The Bahamas’ electricity system. Grid modernisation, stronger transmission infrastructure, enhanced protection, and improved resilience are essential to delivering the reliable service Bahamians expect and deserve.
Finally, we sincerely thank every employee who responded, worked through the night, sacrificed family time, and remained focused until power was restored. Your dedication represents the best of Bahamas Power and Light.
The Board remains committed to continuous improvement, operational excellence, and earning the confidence of the Bahamian people through action, accountability, and results.
Board of Directors
Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited
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