The decades of the 1970s and 1980s continued the consolidation of the Company's "power base," while the local shareholders also increased in number, from 1,300 in 1970 to 2,265 by 1983.

In the early 1970s the Company commenced its largest ever project to date, a new steam station at Spring Garden, which opened in 1976 with two 20,000 kW steam turbines and cost Bds $36 million.

But while that project was moving from the drawing board to reality, the Company came under fire in 1974 when the Public Utilities Board (PUB) approved its application for a rate increase, with charges now being applied to domestic and street lighting sales.

The increasing cost of materials, in particular fuel and maintenance, affected the Company's ability to meet its financial obligations.


In 1976, electricity sales began to rise again for the first time in three years, but engineering problems with the diesel generators and gas turbine reduced the available generating capacity, and power rationing was reintroduced for the first time since 1949. In 1977, the PUB granted another increase in rates and the Company raised needed capital by a share issue. Government, through the National Insurance Scheme, purchased 300,000 ordinary shares.

By 1979, although the Company had over 35 circuit miles of 24,000-volt transmission lines, and an installed capacity of nearly 100,000 kW as well as over 400 employees serving 66,000 customers, its financial situation continued to be critical, delaying the ordering of equipment needed for expansion.