News report: Chamber on power outages: Bahamas needs dependable energy supply

Published by Chester Robards, The Nassau Guardian, July 07, 2026

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The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC), in a response to Guardian Business on concerns over power outages, said the recent frequency of outages is again highlighting the need for long-term, sustainable energy solutions, warning that businesses cannot continue operating under persistent electricity disruptions.

The BCCEC said yesterday that companies across the country continue to experience significant interruptions to their operations because of unreliable electricity, and are seeking permanent solutions rather than temporary fixes.

“The business community continues to face significant disruptions due to frequent power outages and is calling for a reliable, long-term, and sustainable energy supply,” the BCCEC said.

“A dependable electricity infrastructure is essential to support business continuity, enhance productivity, protect investments, and foster economic growth.”

The organization said businesses require “lasting energy solutions that provide consistent and uninterrupted power, rather than temporary measures that fail to address the underlying challenges”.

The comments come as parts of New Providence have experienced repeated outages in recent weeks, including widespread disruptions Sunday following a lightning strike that Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) said affected assets at the Blue Hills power station.

While acknowledging that some outages, especially those caused by lightning strikes, are unavoidable, the Chamber questioned whether sufficient contingency measures are in place to restore service quickly.

“An act of God such as a lightning strike cannot be avoided, but what back-up plans are in place for immediate restoration?”

The Chamber also called for greater financing options to help businesses invest in renewable energy systems that could reduce their dependence on the national grid.

“We need more lenders to create solar funding opportunities,” the Chamber said.

The outage on Sunday negatively disrupted operations at several restaurant businesses.

Dairy Queen Bahamas Operations Manager Crystal Campbell told Guardian Business yesterday that two of the company’s locations were forced to close because the shopping plazas where they operate did not have backup generators.

“Two of our Dairy Queen locations were unable to operate because the plazas where they are located do not have backup generators,” Campbell said.

“In addition, two other locations experienced issues with our soft serve machines. Credit card machines at some were also down because the power continued to dip on and off throughout the day and that caused operational challenges.”

She continued: “While we did see some customers visit our other operating locations, many of them were simply redirected from the stores that were affected by the outages. As a result, the overall sales across our restaurants were not to our advantage. The businesses were redistributed rather than representing new or additional customer traffic.”

BCCEC Chairman Don Williams said the Chamber is preparing a formal position on the issue, but indicated that its immediate concern is the continued impact unreliable electricity is having on the private sector.

The latest comments add to growing calls from businesses and other stakeholders for reforms to strengthen the country’s electricity infrastructure, though the government said recently that the country has turned a corner on its electricity woes.

Read the News report here: https://www.thenassauguardian.com/business/chamber-on-power-outages-bahamas-needs-dependable-energy-supply/article_4d93f933-aeea-4bdd-bbca-ea76b69d1383.html