A lengthy blackout in central New Providence created panic for one Bahamian family who had to search for generator fuel to keep an 86-year-old relative's electric bed running.
Here's what to know
According to The Tribune, Bahamas Power and Light traced the disruption to an overhead cable fault. The outage started shortly after 6 p.m. and lasted until about 11:30 a.m., affecting Yellow Elder Gardens, Stapledon Gardens, Harold Road, Blue Hill Heights, and nearby areas.
Resident Barbara Wilson said her aunt had been bedridden for over two years since a stroke and depends on an electric bed.
"She's literally dying," Wilson said, per The Tribune. "She's not able to sit up. She cannot speak. She has a tube in her stomach that she's being fed through, and she's starting to get a pressure ulcer."
The family does keep a generator for outages, Wilson said, but it ran out of fuel before service returned.
More background
The blackout also disrupted classes, leading Government High School, Tiny Tot Preschool, and C.W. Sawyer Primary School to dismiss students early.
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Free National Movement deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright said the wider electricity crisis is "paralyzing" the education system.
At Good Samaritan's Senior Citizen Homes, Sinymae Capron said the outage was manageable because of cool weather, though she warned that the summer is especially "bad."
New Providence has dealt with repeated outages and load shedding. As The Tribune noted, BPL and the Bahamas Grid Co. have blamed faulty cables, overburdened transformers, feeder and breaker trips, damaged lines, hot weather, and higher electricity use.
What's being done?
Bahamas Grid Co. CEO Dareo McKenzie said the company plans to add staff and use international partnerships to bring in more skilled workers for overhead and underground lines, according to The Tribune.
In the meantime, families rely on the inefficiencies of home generators.
"Even if you have a generator, there's no guarantees," Wilson told The Tribune. "You could run out of gas, the generator could go bad, and we understand that even BPL could have issues. … It's clear that there's way more wrong than what is being said."
She blamed the country's power problems on years of neglect by successive administrations.
While BPL apologized for the outage, Cartwright called on the government to create a backup plan for schools when the power system fails, saying students and teachers deserve better.
"The government must therefore move beyond explanations and provide solutions," Cartwright said.
Where can I learn more?
Here are stories about communities that have faced similar outages, leaving residents scrambling for backup power.
• One homeowner stayed cool during extreme heat by using off-grid energy at home.
• Generac's new systems pair solar and batteries as home backup power options during blackouts.
• In Cuba, Hurricane Oscar collapsed the power grid repeatedly and fueled public anger.
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