NEW PROVIDENCE, BAHAMAS – Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd. (BPL) is preparing to replace 30,000 street lights as part of the Street Light Retrofitting Project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of The Bahamas.

The main objectives of the project are to reduce the cost and the environmental impact of street lighting by upgrading existing high-pressure sodium (HPS) and mercury vapor (MV) lights with LED (light emitting diode) luminaires.  LED lighting would consume more than 30% less power than conventional HPS or MV lighting for the same level of lighting, reducing demand on the network (supplied primarily by fossil fuel generation), and lowering the overall cost of street lighting.

The existing street lights and waste packaging will be collected and disposed of appropriately. The project also features a climate risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) intended to identify and evaluate the potential effects of climate change on BPL’s assets in New Providence and recommend resilience measures to address the identified risks and vulnerabilities and minimize impacts.

The new lighting has been purchased from a leading supplier of LED fixtures.  Four local contractors were selected via tender submissions to remove existing lights and replace them with the new fixtures.  Works are scheduled to commence October 10, 2022.