business@tribunemedia.net
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2025
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Bahamian investors in $20m power plant ownership offering t &" &OFSHZ FZFT FOE .BZ DBQJUBM SBJTF t 'PMMPXT FBSMJFS N QSJWBUF mOBODJOH t 5BSHFUT DPOTUSVDUJPO TUBSU JO XFFLT By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN retail investors will be given an opportunity as early as end-May to collectively acquire a $20m ownership interest in the renewable energy provider developing new power plants for Abaco and Eleuthera. Anthony Ferguson, ANTHONY president of CFAL, FERGUSON the financial advisor and placement agent for EA Energy, told Tribune Business that approval from the Securities Commission is now awaited for an offering that will give small and individual Bahamian investors the opportunity to acquire a stake in the Government’s energy reforms for as little as $1,000. Speaking after EA Energy completed the private placement aspect of its $132.5m capital raising, he revealed that - while the $100m bond component was fully subscribed for by investors - around $21m of the $32.5m equity was taken up. This now leaves the remainder and more available for retail investors, with Mr Ferguson confirming that Abaco and Eleuthera residents will be given the chance to buy-in. “We always intended to have about $20m for the public, so we’re going to be doing that at the end of May,” the CFAL chief told this newspaper. “We’re going to do similar to what we did with Arawak Port Development Company (APD) and the Nassau Cruise Port. Everything is in with the Commission, and we’re just waiting for them to give us approval.”
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Gov’t: BPL ‘price pressure doesn’t mean higher bills’ t 3FQPSU XBSOT PG AJOnBUFE DPTUT UP THE Government last night asserted that its warn- t 4QPLFTNBO A/P BDSPTT ings of short-term “price UIF CPBSE SJTF pressures” and “inflated costs” do “not mean electricity prices are rising across the t CO JOWFTUNFOUT board” over the next three years. GPS N TBWJOHT Latrae Rahming, the Prime By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Minister’s communications director, told Tribune Business that the Davis administration was simply explaining The Bahamas is “still exposed to short-term fluctuations” in fuel prices beyond its control after it appeared to warn households and businesses they may have to endure short-term pain - in the form of higher energy bills - to secure long-term gain through greater cost savings. The alert was issued on page 28 of the ‘Securing The Bahamas’ energy future’ document that was tabled by the Prime Minister in the House
BAHAMAS POWER & LIGHT (BPL) HEADQUARTERS
of Assembly yesterday. In a section titled ‘Short-term trends: Transition costs and near-term pressures’, the Government said the cost associated with up to $1.2bn of planned energy infrastructure investments will impose duress on energy bill prices until the projected savings kick-in. “During the 2024 to 2027 transition period, consumers will experience short-term price pressures as capital investments are deployed and old systems phased out,” the report tabled by the Prime Minister stated. “Through these PPPs (public-private partnerships) and power purchase agreements, $1.182bn has been committed to generation, transmission, storage and smart metering infrastructure across the archipelago. “While these investments will unlock long-term savings, they will temporarily
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BPL’s ‘crushing debt dig out’ with $87m savings By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Prime Minister yesterday asserted the Government’s energy reforms will generate $87m in annual savings for Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) so it can “dig out from the crushing weight” of $500m in debt. Philip Davis KC, addressing the House of Assembly on the much-touted industry overhaul, said outsourcing generation and New Providence’s electricity grid to private sector partners will
PHILIP DAVIS KC
MICHAEL PINTARD
help restore a state-owned utility that was “drowning” in half-a-billion dollars of debt plus $100m in unfunded employee pension liabilities to “fiscal health”.
Although no timeline was given for when these savings will be fully realised, the Prime Minister said almost half this sum - some $43m - would be recovered from
ending the temporary rental generation contracts providing around 113 mega watts (MW) of power on New Providence alone. He pledged that these savings “will accumulate until BPL’s entire $500m debt is erased”. However, Michael Pintard, the Opposition’s leader, told Tribune Business that the Prime Minister’s address to Parliament was more notable for what it did not mention as opposed to what was said. He added that, while yesterday’s proceedings were the Government’s response
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‘Sign of desperation’ to celebrate IMF revision By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday asserted that “it’s almost a sign of desperation” for the Prime Minister to celebrate a 0.1 percentage point improvement in the IMF’s growth forecast for The Bahamas. Kwasi Thompson, the east Grand Bahama MP, hit out after Philip Davis KC hailed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) upward revision from 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent economic growth for 2025
- as well as The Bahamas’ first credit rating outlook upgrade to ‘positive’ in 17 years - as evidence of the outside world’s “confidence” and “faith” in the country’s ability to improve its prospects. Noting that The Bahamas has bucked a trend that saw the IMF downgrade 2025 growth forecasts for the US, UK and all other major economies as a result of the Trump-induced tariff turmoil, the Prime Minister said: “It is with a sense of resolve and encouragement that I share with this House
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BPL targeting ‘cash flow neutral’ by 2032 By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government is hoping that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) can become “cash flow neutral” by 2032 if all the benefits from its energy reforms are realised, it was asserted yesterday. Prime Minister Philip Davis KC tabled the ‘Securing The Bahamas’ energy future’ report, detailing the anticipated economic and social benefits from the industry’s overhaul, in Parliament as
his administration sought to make the case for “farreaching” changes to a sector that has been “in crisis”. “These reforms are already delivering results. By 2025, the switch to liquefied natural gas (LNG) is projected to generate $90m in savings. When all projects are in place, the total annual savings across the system are expected to exceed $130m. Financial projections indicate that Bahamas Power & Light could reach cash flow
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