Bahamas partners with FOCOL and Shell to power New Providence with LNG

The Government of the Bahamas has announced a significant partnership with FOCOL and Shell to bring LNG Power to New Providence. This development will promise more than $100 million in annual savings and a major upgrade to the island's energy infrastructure.

According to the information, the announcement comes as New Providence customers grappled with high electricity bills which were coupled with power outages throughout the summer.

The plan was unveiled during local Folklores Annual general meeting at the University of the Bahamas this week.

The President of FOCOL Holding Ltd, Dexter Adderley said that it will feature a phased rollout of 60MW of LNG power at Clifton Pier, bringing the total capacity to 130MW.

“This involves introducing LNG at Clifton Pier, representing the first large scale LNG infrastructure in the country. This involves introducing 177MW of combined cycle power at Blue Hills, which would be the most efficient power plant in the country. The plant will provide baseload capacity for the island of New Providence,” he outlined.

He continued to say, “The plant will provide base load capacity for the island of New Providence. The savings announced by the government are expected to be more than $100 million annually.”

The President also said that his team is committed to modernising its retail network and expanding the range of goods and services and for that they have remained focused on moderinising its fleet of marine vessels.

FOCOL has teamed up with General Electric, one of the largest generation companies in the world. This partnership was praised by Sunshine insurance chairman Franklyn Wilson.

He said, “The engines that are going to be turned on very shortly at Bahamas Power and Light Company. Those engines were in demand in a number of other countries, including one of the very wealthy Middle East countries. Okay. We were only able to get those two engines because of the reputation of.”

This development is significant as once brought to place, it will give a major push to the energy sector in the Bahamas.