A public dispute has erupted over the root causes of The Bahamas’ persistent electricity grid instability, with leading electric vehicle dealers accusing national power sector executives of scapegoating EV owners to distract from decades of systemic underinvestment and poor strategic planning.
The clash followed a joint press conference held by Bahamas Grid Company (BGC) and Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) at the Office of the Prime Minister, where top utility leaders linked recent system overloads and faults to unreported, unregulated increases in residential electricity demand. BGC Chief Operating Officer Ryan Holder highlighted unpermitted additions like extra air conditioning units as a key unaccounted-for strain on infrastructure, before BGC Chief Executive Officer Dareo McKenzie specifically called out unreported home EV chargers, framing them as a substantial, hidden drain that grid operators cannot plan for.
But Pia and John Farmer, co-founders of the Bahamas’ leading EV specialist dealership Easy Car Sales, are rejecting that narrative outright. The couple, who sell most of the electric vehicles on Bahamian roads today, point out that there is currently no legal requirement for Bahamian homeowners to seek government or utility permission to install a residential EV charger — making the call for mandatory reporting both unnecessary and absurd.
They further break down the data to counter claims that EV charging poses an unmanageable burden on the national grid. With only around 2,500 EVs currently operating across The Bahamas, EV adoption makes up a tiny fraction of total national electricity demand. On average, a typical EV driven for annual distances common to Bahamian motorists consumes just 3,000 kilowatt-hours per year, or 250 kWh monthly. That consumption level is on par with common household appliances like standard electric water heaters, residential pool pumps or clothes dryers, and it is far lower than the energy draw of most central home air conditioning systems — the single largest residential power user in the Caribbean island nation.
Unlike air conditioning use, which peaks during hot daytime hours when overall grid demand is already high, the Farmers note that EV charging is far more flexible. Most motorists plug in their vehicles overnight, during off-peak periods when overall energy demand is at its lowest. To leverage this flexibility, the pair is calling on BPL to introduce discounted off-peak electricity rates for residential EV charging, a policy that would align with the conservation goals the utility itself highlighted during the press conference.
More broadly, the Farmers argue that The Bahamas’ electricity capacity shortage is a long-standing legacy issue that predates the recent growth of EV adoption. They question why utility executives are targeting small residential EV owners instead of addressing the far larger energy consumption of large commercial operations including island resorts, major grocery chains, and the new data centers proposed for development across the country. The core problem, they insist, is not growing EV adoption, but decades of inadequate infrastructure investment and failure to plan for rising overall energy demand.
The dispute also raises questions about whether the national power sector is aligned with the Davis administration’s national climate commitments. The Bahamas’ officially submitted nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change sets a target for 50 percent of all new vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2035, with an additional 30 percent coming from hybrid vehicles. The Farmers calculate that meeting this target will require just 25 megawatts of additional generating capacity over the next 11 years — a roughly 10 percent increase from current baselines that is entirely manageable with proactive planning and targeted investment.
Beyond meeting climate targets, the pair emphasizes that widespread EV adoption brings substantial economic and environmental benefits to The Bahamas. Consumers are switching to EVs because they cut ownership costs by 65 percent compared to gas-powered vehicles, saving drivers thousands of dollars annually on fuel and maintenance. For the national economy, wider EV adoption would reduce the country’s reliance on costly fossil fuel imports, preserve precious foreign exchange reserves, and cut national carbon emissions. Lower emissions would in turn strengthen The Bahamas’ eligibility for international carbon credits and climate financing, critical resources for the low-lying island nation on the front lines of climate change.
“In our opinion, EV drivers are to be applauded, not blamed for the inadequacies of our grid,” the couple said. They also pointed out that BPL itself already operates a sizeable fleet of electric vehicles, noting that the utility has already embraced the benefits of EV technology for its own operations. Closing with a call to action, the Farmers urged BGC and BPL to stop shifting blame and start proactively preparing for the global transition away from fossil fuel-powered transportation.
“The revolution in transportation is already here,” they said. “The People and the Government are on board. BPL and BGC please plan for the energy future we Bahamians deserve and want, and don’t ask us to stay in the dark ages of fossil fuel transportation.”