Bahamas News
Grand Bahama Utility Company Announces application for Rate Adjustment that seeks to address pressure for residents and preserve potability
#Freeport, GB, The Bahamas, April 13, 2023 – The Grand Bahama Utility Company (GBUC) announces that they have made official application to the Regulatory Committee of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) for a rate adjustment to be effective May 1, 2023, where 40% of customers see no increase.
According to GBUC Chief Operating Officer Philcher Grant-Adderley, it has been a long road to recovery since the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Dorian. “There is no denying that Dorian had a long-lasting impact – not only on our infrastructure, but most critically, on our freshwater lens. Our biggest wellfield, W6, was inundated with over 20 feet of seawater for three days and the consequences to the fresh water supply were devastating. In total, GBUC has
suffered over $15M in losses as a result of Hurricane Dorian recovery efforts.”
Mrs. Grant-Adderley continued, “We added 75 new wells and were able to restore potability to 70% of the island by July 2020. After comprehensive hydrological and geotechnical surveys with local teams, the international scientific community, and NGOs, it was determined that the rate of recovery of the W6 aquifer would most likely not return to potable standard in this generation. We made the decision to invest in a $5 million, 3-million-gallon per day, mobile Reverse Osmosis (RO) system that enabled us to return full potability to the Island in December 2021.”
Grant-Adderley added that it has been a very costly exercise for GBUC as RO systems are extremely expensive to run, adding an additional $2.5 million to the utility’s annual operating costs from its commissioning in 2021. That, coupled with the approximately $2 million in uninsurable losses associated with Hurricane Dorian including over half million dollars in costs to operate the free water depots for residents and 25% discounts given to residents for water usage, has taken a significant financial toll on the utility.
“It is never a decision that a company takes lightly when discussing possible rate adjustments for customers”, said Grant- Adderley. “We know that it is not an easy message to deliver or to hear. That is why despite the incredible financial loss to the utility we have absorbed these additional costs and deferred this rate adjustment application for as long as we could. However, to continue to do so would not only be fiduciarily irresponsible but makes it impossible for us to make the additional capital investments we need to restore island pressure and maintain potability.
The COO further stated that the utility has proposed a rate adjustment with the least possible customer impact while balancing the increased cost of doing business. In the application proposal 40% of customers will see no increase in their bills, while the remaining GBUC customers will on average experience an increase of approximately $8 in their monthly bills.
Grant-Adderley added that as part of the rate case application, GBUC has budgeted over $6.5 million for capital improvement plans. This is inclusive of the construction of an additional 1.5 million gallon a day mobile reverse osmosis system which will increase island potable water capacity, further improve water quality, and address the lower pressure being experienced by residents because of the diminished freshwater lens. Other projects include a multiyear asset management program where GBUC will strategically upgrade aging infrastructure with an island wide pipe and valve change out program, a robust leak detection program, using satellite technology to reduce non-revenue water, continuation of an island wide meter change out program to smart metering and the implementation
of automation of the utility’s critical systems.
Olethea Gardiner-Miller, GBUC wellfield officer, wished to remind customers that they are 100% in control of their usage. “Customers control their consumption and that’s one of the most important takeaways from the Utility,” said Gardiner-Miller. “Our rate proposal addresses key components and consumer behaviors we want to encourage. The first being to encourage environmentally conscious customers, hence no rate increase for the lower usage customers, about 40% of our base. The second being that Hurricane Dorian has significantly damaged our freshwater lens and we must learn the new normal of consuming less or we run the risk of destroying what’s left of the aquifer for us and future generations.”
The full application proposal and breakdown of rates, along with conservation tips are available on the company website www.grandbahamautility.com and information will be shared on all social media platforms. Our Utility Relations team is ready to serve customers and can assist with affordable payment plans to help bring accounts in good standing and can be contacted via phone at 350-9009 or email utilityrelations@grandbahamautility.com.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – An American woman has been arrested in The Bahamas, accused of conspiring with two men, one of them alleged to be her lover, to murder her estranged husband.
The woman, 36 year old Lindsay Shiver and the two men, 28-year-old Terrance Bethel, the alleged lover and 29 year old Faron Newbold, were taken into custody last week following police investigation of a reported burglary at
Grabbers Bar and Grill restaurant on Great Guana Cay.
The police looked into their cell phones and found WhatsApp messages detailing the assassination plot to kill her husband.
The couple, who built a life in South Georgia have three children and are home owners on the island in the Abacos.
News outlets throughout the US have reported on the scandalous story, including that a nasty court battle over the couple’s reported, $5 Million dollar fortune and three children was underway. Shiver, an entrepreneur is a former beauty Alabama queen, her husband a former football player was an insurance executive.
According to US media, the husband, Robert, recently filed for divorce from Shivers after a decade of marriage upon discovering she had an alleged extra-martial affair with Bethel whom she met in The Bahamas.
While the husband claims infidelity on the part of his wife, the wife claims he was abusive.
The suspects Shiver, Bethel and Newbold appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley on Friday July 28th. Their next court date is set for October 5th.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – The Bahamas is now facing an unfortunate reality as sexual assault has become and is a growing issue since 2023. Women and girls are said to be living in fear for their safety from these perpetrators.
The Royal Bahamas Police force has reported on instances of assault in press releases found on their Facebook page.
One report spoke of a 50 year old they were searching for after he burglarized a home and sexually assaulted an elderly woman, 82 years old. She was reported to be asleep when he woke and assaulted her.
This took place on Tuesday July 11th, 2023 at the home in the Centreville area of Nassau.
There is another incident that took place on July 17th, 2023 which the police are seeking in catching the suspect as they investigate. It involves a man believed to the perpetrator in for an armed robbery and sexual assault.
According to preliminary data, he approached the victim, a female, with a firearm, robbed her and sexually assaulted
her. He proceeded to enter the house and robbed a male and escaped. This happened in the Cowpen Road area; also in Nassau.
The assaults continue to grow in number as the police reported that they were investigating two other incidents that took place on July 24th.
The first had to do with a female, 30 years old who reported she was driving on West on Marshall Road when two men approached her after she slowed down near Faith Avenue. One of the males with a firearm, forced her from her vehicle and took her to nearby bushes where they sexually assaulted her after which they escaped.
The second incident involved à 32 year old woman who was sexually assaulted by a male known to her. It is reported that she was walking in the Fleming Street area when she accepted transportation from the suspect, who drove her to a dirt road off Gladstone Road where he presented a firearm and proceeded to rape her.
Furthermore, another assault, this time involving a 9 year old girl, was reported. As revealed by preliminary information, the victim was playing with friends outside where she lives on Saturday July 29th, 2023 when the suspect, a 42 year old male of Summerset Estate, driving a white Nissan Skyline, arrived and gestured to her to enter the car.
She entered the car after which he took her to an unknown location, threatened her and sexually assaulted her. She was later found somewhere in Spikenard Road; this also happened in Nassau.
Fortunately, he was caught and arrested for abduction and sexual assault on Sunday July 30th by officers affiliated with the Drug Enforcement Unit.
There are other reports of sexual assault throughout The Bahamas as well as rape and attempted rape during the earlier parts of the year, dating back to as early as February.
CAPTION: Women Leaders, including Ann Marie Davis, wife of the Prime Minister filled the gallery of The Bahamas Senate this week as members of the upper chamber debated the Protection Against Violence Bill 2023. The debate came just as the country experiences a spike in sexual assaults against women and girls. Photo by Patrick Hanna, BIS.
#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – On August 3rd, 2023, Premier Misick met with the Leader of the
Opposition of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Honorable Michael Pintard. The discussion was highly productive, and they delved into matters of mutual concern between their neighboring nations. Hon. Pintard was accompanied by other opposition members, including Senator the Honorable Darren Handfield and Mr. Joshua Sears.
Group photo caption:
From Left to Right: Mr. Joshua Sears, Senator Hon. Darren Hendfield, Premier Hon. Charles Washington Misick, Bahamas Leader of the Bahamas Hon. Michael Pintard and Deputy Premier Hon. Erwin J. Saunders.
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