As the government yesterday signed an agreement to acquire the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) from Emera, Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said the move is not a political one, but is intended simply to reduce electricity costs for Grand Bahamians and bring the island “inside our national energy strategy”.
“It’s going to bring down the cost of living in Grand Bahama and make businesses here more competitive because families will pay less for electricity, small businesses will pay less, large businesses will pay less, churches, schools, shops, restaurants, hotels, manufacturers, offices and community organizations across Grand Bahama, they will feel the difference,” Davis said at the ceremonial signing.
Davis claimed it would foster investments on the island, which was once an economic powerhouse in The Bahamas, but has seen a notable decline in recent decades.
“Grand Bahama has the port, the land, the workers, the industrial base, the location and the history,” he said.
“What Grand Bahama needs and has long needed is serious policy, serious financing and serious partners are lying behind one national purpose.
“That is the work of the government to find the partners, to structure the deal, to protect the people, to lower the costs and to bring opportunity closer home.”
Davis said residents should see the difference in their electricity bill by the next billing cycle.
He also assured that the employment and benefits of all existing employees of GBPC will be protected, as he noted that trained GBPC employees will also take on key roles in the government’s broader energy reform agenda.
“That means Grand Bahama will help shape the energy future of The Bahamas. Engineers, technicians, system operators, managers, customer service professionals and energy specialists from this island will help build a stronger, cleaner, steadier and fairer electricity system across our country,” Davis said.
In March 2026, Parliament approved two resolutions to guarantee $280 million in borrowing to assume control over GBPC.
Of that amount, $200 million would flow through Grand Bahama Energy Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle, and $80 million would assist with the capital expenditure of the GBPC upon the acquisition.
Nearly two years ago, the government announced plans for far-reaching energy reform, including multiple LNG and solar power purchase agreements for islands across The Bahamas.
Another key component was the transfer of Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) transmission and distribution network assets to a newly formed company, Bahamas Grid Company (BGC), which would manage that side of the operations going forward.
This move was initially announced as a partnership with US-based Pike, but in recent months, that relationship seems to have deteriorated drastically, with Eric Pike no longer serving as the chairman of BGC, and Pike workers having left the country.
It is one of several complications that have presented with the T&D plan, as no BPL workers opted to be seconded to BGC.
The reform agenda was announced as a move to rightsize BPL, which Minister of Energy and Transport JoBeth Colbery-Davis said required $1 billion to “fix” between paying off debts and upgrading aging infrastructure.
The state of BPL’s finances and operations, combined with the obscurity surrounding the energy reform agreements, led many to question the government’s decision to acquire the GBPC, when the intention was announced earlier this year.
Davis said yesterday, however, that it represents a “step towards a better future” for Grand Bahama.
He thanked Emera, the GBPC’s parent company, for “bearing this burden for the last almost six years”.
“Providing electricity to islands like Grand Bahama, in particular, and generally in an archipelago is not an easy task; it’s complex,” Davis said.
“And despite the high electricity bills that you may be paying here, it didn’t go to the bottom line of Emera.
“In fact, the burden they bore is ordinarily carried by a government as opposed to a private company, and that is one of the things that inspired us to step in to take over and to buy and to acquire the company,” Davis said.
“So I really truly, from the bottom of my heart, wish to thank you, and you can convey that to your board members for me.”
Davis was asked about the optics of havinWsn’t stop because an election is in the air,” he said.
“We still have to govern, and this transaction has been in the making for quite a while. The process just happened to be ending now. Should we abandon it when are we going to be able to bring relief to the people of Grand Bahama immediately?”
