Minister Neymour, who spoke to the Bahama Journal recently said that the Bahamas Electrical Corporation (BEC) will be making upgrades to accommodate the increase in power during the next few months.
"One of the things that I want to point is that we are going into the summer months and BEC has taken precaution to address the maintenance of its equipment to prepare for the rise in consumption because a number of persons will be using air [conditioners]," he said.
"That means the demand on BEC will be greater, but at the same time, Bahamians need to consume less in regards to their electricity in their homes."
The junior minister gave some tips to save money while using air conditioner units during the summer months.
"I encourage Bahamians to do some things to help them conserve energy such as servicing their air conditioning units," Minister Neymour said. "Cleaning vents also helps and using the air condition along with the use of a central fan helps with circulating the air."
"A comfortable setting is 78 degrees Fahrenheit, so maybe we need to turn the thermostat to that particular degree to conserve energy."
Minister Neymour encouraged those persons who are buying air conditions for their homes for the first time, to buy the more efficient type.
"It may cost more than the regular units, but in the long run you will be saving," he said. "Consumers will also notice a BEC fuel surcharge during the summer months, but we should [remember] that [it has] been at the lowest since July 2005."
"It went up this month by a cent or so, but it is important that Bahamians conserve energy realize that energy is not getting cheaper as we move forward."
Mr. Neymour also added that BEC has a maintenance schedule that it prepares for the high demand periods such as the summer and has fully implemented a new schedule for the next few months.
"We are comfortable that BEC is able to provide services for the Bahamian people," Minister Neymour said. "Bahamians must remember, however, that we are also faced with the acts of God and [problems that] we cannot control."
"Over the last year, however, BEC has done an excellent job at reducing the amount of [power] outages Bahamians [experience], so we are hoping to continue that excellent service."
Earlier this year, a renewable company, Emera had been helping BEC search for alternative sources of energy, according to BEC’s General Manager, Kevin Basden.
The Ministry of Environment has numerous companies that are willing to help The Bahamas with providing electricity from renewable energy sources, but Emera already stepped up its efforts by purchasing major shares in the Grand Bahama Power Company Limited.
Emera is a multi-billion dollar energy services company, which recently purchased 25 percent of the Grand Bahama Power Company Limited for more than $40 million.
