Friends,
From the very beginning, I said Grand Bahama needs the right partners, the magic must return to this island, and the people of Grand Bahama must sit inside the national vision for The Bahamas.
Grand Bahama is near and dear to my heart.
You have had more than your fair share of storms, setbacks, uncertainty, and delay. Yet Grand Bahamians kept building lives and communities here. Workers kept showing up. Families kept believing. Business owners kept opening their doors. Young people kept hoping that Grand Bahama would rise again.
You believe a much better future is possible for Grand Bahama, and so do we.
Today, we are taking another major step forward, towards that better future.
The Government of The Bahamas, through a special purpose vehicle called the Grand Bahama Electricity Company, is acquiring all outstanding shares of Grand Bahama Power Company.
The transaction is funded by a loan from Standard Chartered and Scotiabank, guaranteed by the Government of The Bahamas.
This decision was made with a clear purpose: to bring down the cost of electricity for the people of Grand Bahama and place this island inside our national energy strategy.
Grand Bahama Power Company will adopt the BPL tariff schedule for services provided to customers in Grand Bahama.
This is going to bring down the cost of living in Grand Bahama, and make businesses here more competitive.
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 organisations across Grand Bahama will feel the difference.
When electricity costs are too high, it’s difficult for businesses to invest, expand, and compete. Families spend money on their light bills instead of supporting the local economy.
We are going to lower the burden – and in doing so, give families room to breathe, and to spend on other priorities. Bahamian businesses will have an opportunity to plan, and invest, and compete on level ground.
Investors will understand that Grand Bahama has a more favourable investment climate.
Grand Bahama has the port, the land, the workers, the industrial base, the location, and the history. What Grand Bahama needs – and has long needed – is serious policy, serious financing, and serious partners aligned behind one national purpose.
That is the work of government.
To find the partners.
To structure the deal.
To protect the people.
To lower the cost.
And to bring opportunity closer to home.
This acquisition also protects the employment and benefits of all existing employees of Grand Bahama Power Company. The Bahamian management team will remain in place.
To the workers of GBPC, we believe you are ready for a New Energy Era.
You know the system. You know the grid. You know the customers. You know what it takes to keep power flowing through good days and difficult ones.
Your experience belongs in the next stage of national reform.
In the coming months, trained employees of Grand Bahama Power Company will take up key roles in the Government’s wider 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.
That is how Grand Bahama comes into the national strategy.
Through its people.
Through its talent.
Through its workers.
Through its capacity to lead.
I wish to thank Emera for its stewardship of Grand Bahama Power Company and for its partnership during this transition.
Emera has played a meaningful role in the management and development of GBPC over many years. We appreciate the responsible engagement and cooperation that helped bring this process to this point.
I also thank Standard Chartered and Scotiabank for their confidence in this transaction, in Grand Bahama, and in the economic direction of The Bahamas.
Small countries must choose partners carefully. Capital should serve people. Financing should support growth. Public policy should make daily life better.
That is the standard we bring to this decision.
Some people will be determined to greet this moment with negativity and grievances.
But I see the family opening a lower bill.
I see the business owner with more room to hire, and expand.
I see the pensioner with a little less pressure.
I see the young Bahamian who can begin to believe that Grand Bahama has a future worthy of his dreams.
That is why this decision means so much to me and to the people of Grand Bahama.
Grand Bahama has heard many speeches across many years. You are done with talk – only action matters.
Today, the Government delivers relief on electricity.
Today, workers are protected.
Today, Bahamian management stays in place.
Today, the technical skill of Grand Bahama is being brought into the national energy reform agenda.
Today, this island moves closer to the centre of the country’s economic future.
As Prime Minister, I want every Grand Bahamian to know: I believe in this island.
I believe in its workers, its families, its entrepreneurs, and its future.
The magic must return to Grand Bahama.
With the right partners, the right policy, and the courage to act, it will.
May God bless the people of Grand Bahama.
May God bless our workers.
And may God continue to bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.