LETTER| This month marks the end of my service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bahamas Power and Light (BPL). It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve our public utility and, by extension, the people of The Bahamas.
This outgoing Board is a superb group of talented and committed professionals. To Chairman Donovan Moxey, Ph.D., Viana Gardiner, James Moss, Robyn Lee Ogilvie, Debra Wood, Ferron Bethell, and Cindy Smith, you have my respect and gratitude for serving so well and making BPL – and me – better through your wisdom and sage counsel.
To the management and staff at Bahamas Power and Light Ltd. who work tirelessly to serve the people of The Bahamas, I offer my sincere thanks and my deep respect. To paraphrase the old MacArther accolades: the great people of BPL have done so much with so little for so long. Your endless professionalism and commitment in the face of overwhelming challenges and years of under investment, are a credit to you and a gift to the Bahamas.
In the three years of our Board’s tenure we have united and faced the consequences of two Category 5 hurricanes directly hitting the Islands of The Bahamas, 2 catastrophic fires impacting a significant share of generation, and a global pandemic.
Simultaneously, we have built a long-term strategic plan for BPL that will significantly shift Out Island generation to renewables, worked to tap international capital markets to recapitalize BPL, negotiated a transformative long-term energy agreement with Royal Dutch Shell, built a turnkey 120MW power plant in 15 months to replace fire-damage at Clifton Pier, and introduced BPL’s first fuel hedging program – and hedged 2 years of fuel in the mid-$40 range. These results are a real tribute to the teamwork at BPL.
My hat goes off to Chairman Moxey, who lead us brilliantly. And to CEO Whitney Heastie, COO Ian Pratt, ED Patrick Rollins, CFO Chandrice Ferguson, Board Secretary Samantha Rolle, Head of Renewables Burlington Strachan, Director of PR K. Quincy Parker, Director of Risk and Compliance Shervonne Johnson, CISM, CISA, Director of Audits Shantal Williams, Director of IT Sebastian Carey and the many, many others at BPL who have worked so hard – and continue to do so – to keep building a better, greener energy future for The Bahamas. My apologies if I have inadvertently left anyone off of this list.
I would also like to thank Christopher Burgess, of RMI, who has been an invaluable resource and ally in our quest to boost renewable energy in The Bahamas.
To the incoming Board and Chairman Pedro Rolle, my heartfelt best wishes. Good luck as you take on the many challenges ahead. I wish you and BPL every success.
Stephen Holowesko
