NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Prime Minister Phillip Davis says a modern energy system is necessary for The Bahamas to grow and compete. Addressing an Energy Reform Stakeholder Forum, Prime Minister Davis said that manufacturers will not invest where power is unreliable and that hotels cannot deliver world-class service when they live in fear of outages.
He said digital businesses cannot thrive without a constant, stable power supply.
“If we get this right, we give our young people a country where blackouts do not decide their future. We give our schools and clinics the basic platform they need. We give our investors and employers the confidence to commit to long-term plans.
“We make our islands less exposed to fuel price shocks and weather events, and we hold our place in the world as a responsible part of the global response to climate change,” Prime Minister Davis said, adding, “This is why I say that the new energy era is historic”.
He said that while the new energy plan, like all other plans, is not perfect, it will need adjustments as technology changes and as the country learns from experience.
“But for the first time, we are tackling the full structure of the system: generation, fuel, transmission, and distribution, debt, and subsidies, and we are doing so with a clear line of sight to the future.
“We are also creating new fields of opportunity for Bahamians. The shift to gas, solar, storage, microgrids and smart networks brings with it new skills, new trades and new professions,” Prime Minister Davis said, adding that technicians, engineers and entrepreneurs will have the chance to work at the cutting edge of energy technology, not just repair ageing engines.
“Part of our task is to match our training programmes and scholarships to these opportunities, so that Bahamians are not just consumers of new technology, but owners and leaders in it.
“There will be critics who say we are moving too slowly, and others who say we are moving too fast. That comes with the territory. The test is not whether everyone agrees at every stage.
“The test is whether, in five years, 10 years, 20 years, our people can look back and say: that was the moment the country stopped drifting and started to build a power system that worked.
We have already come some distance.”
Prime Minister Davis said that the reforms are underway, the documents are in the public domain, and the investments are being made.
“The old habits of secrecy and short-term thinking are being challenged. There is still a long road ahead, and we will not always get every detail right on the first attempt. But we are moving with purpose, and we are being honest about the choices and the trade-offs.”
He told the forum participants that they should be fully engaged, listen to the presentations, ask questions, test the assumptions, and “then help us carry the facts back to your communities, your workplaces, your unions, your churches, your professional bodies.
“The promise I make as Prime Minister is straightforward. We will continue to meet you in forums like this. We will continue to make the contracts and the data public. We will continue to make adjustments where needed.
“We will keep our eyes on the larger goal: a Bahamas where the lights stay on, the bills make sense, and the energy system supports the hopes of our people rather than holding them back.
“If we keep that goal in view, if we do the work carefully and openly, then years from now, Bahamians will be able to say, ‘That was the period when we finally got energy policy right,” Davis added.
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