The Bahamas is a country prone to hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, and flash flooding due to its geographical location and low-lying terrain. When a storm strikes the country, it exposes how vulnerable its power systems are to extreme weather events. Frequent outages and aging infrastructure underscore an urgent need to modernize the power grid and build resilience with faster recovery times. Today, that transformation is underway.
The government of The Bahamas, through its “New Energy Era” plan, is leading an ambitious reform to modernize grid operations, improve service quality, and transition the national utility, Bahamas Power and Light Company (BPL), toward cleaner, more resilient energy. The goal: increase the share of renewable energy to 30% by 2030 while strengthening the country’s capacity to withstand future storms.
As a long-standing partner of the country, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is helping make this vision a reality. Building on more than four decades of collaboration, the IDB has supported electrification across the Family Islands and New Providence. Currently, through innovative energy projects, capacity building, and a credit line that also financed post–Hurricane Dorian reconstruction, the Bank continues to help integrate renewable energy, enhance system reliability, and ensure that clean, resilient power reaches every Bahamian community.
Today, the IDB is providing BPL with US$90 million in new financing to improve the reliability and efficiency of the electricity grid service across the country. This operation is the second part of the credit line approved in 2020. This investment aligns with ONE Caribbean, a flagship program launched by the IDB for the Caribbean region. This initiative fosters inclusive and sustainable growth in the Caribbean, aiming to address central challenges with a regional focus. This operation will contribute to adaptation, disaster risk management and resilience, sustainable development through private sector development, and by the cross-cutting area of digital transformation and institutional strengthening.
Our Focus: Modernizing Electricity Service Through Smart Technology
This new partnership with BPL will focus on three main areas:
- Expanding Smart Meters to Improve Electricity Service
Smart meters and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) enable customers to have greater control over their consumption habits, improve billing accuracy, and enable two-way communication. This technology will also facilitate pre-payment functionality for customers. Evidence from similar projects has demonstrated that smart meters can improve energy and operational efficiency and reduce electricity losses.
The project will directly benefit all of BPL’s customers through the installation of AMI, with no acquisition or installation costs to be borne by them. It is expected to benefit 352,000 Bahamians (about 85% of the population), of which 297,000 are in New Providence and 55,000 are in the Family Islands. - Strengthening the Power Grid for Reliable Smart Meters to Improve Electricity Service
The project will invest in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) to integrate the Outage Management Solution (OMS) to monitor and remotely control BPL’s power plants and electricity grid, better detect and manage outages, and facilitate the penetration of new renewable energy.
This will also be complemented by the development of a geographic information system (GIS) with digital geospatial mapping of the existing electrical infrastructure. This GIS initiative is a significant modernization effort by BPL, enabling it to better serve its customers and improve resilience. Evidence from similar projects has demonstrated that these investments can yield faster restoration time during electricity outages and improved grid reliability.
As many as 40,800 individuals in vulnerable households, or about 12% of BPL accounts, will benefit directly from faster outage detection and resolution. Such improved services will help avoid spoilage and health risks during prolonged power cuts, especially among the elderly and families reliant on refrigerated medicine. - Investments to Strengthen Institutional Capacity in the Energy Sector
This investment will improve BPL’s data management system in line with international standards and methodologies. It will also strengthen the capabilities of long-term energy planning and support the development of pre-feasibility studies to have a pipeline of future energy projects.
Under the project, BPL will also enhance its financial management and governance. It will introduce enterprise risk management processes and provide capacity-building in information technology, cybersecurity, and big data. Lastly, it will strengthen the human resources function through actions to increase employment retention and promotion of women in the energy sector, and through training to raise awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities.
Building a Resilient Energy Future
Promoting sustainable and resilient solutions is at the core of every IDB operation. This new initiative will enhance the financial viability and long-term sustainability of the Bahamian energy sector through efficiency gains, improved revenue collection, and capacity-building through training in advanced technologies.
The expansion of SCADA systems to the Family Islands, the smart metering program supported by an awareness campaign on energy efficiency, and the transfer of technical know-how from manufacturers to BPL will further strengthen institutional capacity and ensure lasting impact.
By combining innovation, capacity building, and sustainability, the IDB partnership with The Bahamas will help power a more secure, efficient, and resilient future for the Bahamian people.