Grand Bahama based human rights group Families for Justice is appealing to Grand Bahama Minister Dr. Michael Darville to step in and assist with what they call the “inhumane treatment the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC)” is imposing on them.

In a press statement issued Wednesday, Families for Justice President Rev. Glenroy Bethel said more than 10,000 families living throughout the nation’s second city have been living in the dark for months and in some cases, years.

“The majority of the families find it difficult to feed their children and themselves because of no power in their homes,” he said. “This is inhumane and we call on the minister for Grand Bahama to take some action against the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) who is the regulator for the power company in our community.

“During our research, regarding the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the organisation has discovered from our legal team that the power company in Grand Bahama was never supposed to be a profit making company, especially with such high profits putting a greater burden on families throughout the community.”

Earlier this week it was reported that Grand Bahama residents were planning to protest the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) for excessively high monthly bills and shoddy service.

According to reports, a number of major restaurants and commercial businesses on the island cut of their power from the GBPC and have resorted to using their generators in a bid to boycott the power company.

“As the president of Families for Justice, I make this final plea, to the minister of Grand Bahama on behalf of its people to launch an investigation into the community, to determine how many family members are affected by such conditions,” Rev. Bethel added. “As I conclude, we are Bahamians and we must be our brothers’ keeper.”