BPL Rates Explained
How electricity is priced in The Bahamas, and what each unit of solar generation is really worth.
Your bill is not one rate. It is four charges stacked together.
Most households look at the total and assume they are paying a single price per unit. In practice a Bahamian electricity bill is built from a tiered energy charge, a separate fuel charge, and VAT on top of both. Understanding the structure is the only way to know what solar is actually worth to you.
The residential tariff bands
Energy and fuel are billed separately, and both step up once you pass 800 kWh in a month.
| Monthly consumption | Energy charge | Fuel charge | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| First 200 kWh | $0.0000 | $0.1740 | $0.1740 |
| 201 to 800 kWh | $0.1195 | $0.1740 | $0.2935 |
| Above 800 kWh | $0.1495 | $0.2140 | $0.3635 |
What a bill actually works out to
Because the first 200 kWh carries no energy charge and the higher bands only apply above 800 kWh, your effective rate per unit rises as you use more.
| kWh / month | Energy | Fuel | VAT | Total bill | Effective $/kWh | Fuel share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | $23.90 | $69.60 | $9.35 | $102.85 | $0.257 | 74% |
| 800 | $71.70 | $139.20 | $21.09 | $231.99 | $0.290 | 66% |
| 1,200 | $131.50 | $224.80 | $35.63 | $391.93 | $0.327 | 63% |
| 1,600 | $191.30 | $310.40 | $50.17 | $551.87 | $0.345 | 62% |
| 2,000 | $251.10 | $396.00 | $64.71 | $711.81 | $0.356 | 61% |
| 3,000 | $400.60 | $610.00 | $101.06 | $1,111.66 | $0.371 | 60% |
VAT is applied at 10% on both the energy and fuel components. Some accounts are billed without VAT, and a minimum charge applies to very low consumption, so an individual bill may differ slightly from these figures.
The number that matters for solar
When your roof generates a kilowatt-hour, it does not displace your average rate. It displaces your marginal rate, which is the price of the last unit you would otherwise have bought.
| If your monthly usage is | Marginal rate | Including VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Under 200 kWh | $0.1740 | $0.1914 |
| 200 to 800 kWh | $0.2935 | $0.3229 |
| Above 800 kWh | $0.3635 | $0.3998 |
Why solar changes the arithmetic
It removes the expensive units first
Generation offsets consumption from the top band down, so the first kilowatt-hours you replace are the ones costing you nearly 40 cents.
It removes the fuel charge with them
The fuel component is charged per kilowatt-hour consumed. Generate the unit yourself and roughly 60 per cent of that charge disappears alongside the energy charge.
It fixes your cost for 25 years
Fuel pricing is set by global markets. Sunlight is not. A system bought today locks in its cost regardless of what happens to fuel prices later.
Questions about Bahamian electricity rates
How much is electricity per kWh in The Bahamas?
There is no single rate. The energy charge is $0.1195/kWh between 201 and 800 kWh and $0.1495/kWh above that, with the first 200 kWh carrying no energy charge. A separate fuel charge of $0.1740/kWh (rising to $0.2140/kWh above 800 kWh) applies to every unit, and 10% VAT is added on top.
In practice the effective rate runs from about $0.26/kWh for a low-usage household to roughly $0.37/kWh for a high-usage one.
Why is the fuel charge so high on my bill?
The fuel charge recovers the cost of the fuel burned to generate your electricity, and it is billed per kilowatt-hour on top of the energy charge. Above 800 kWh a month it reaches $0.2140/kWh, which is more than the energy charge itself. On a typical household bill it accounts for around 60 per cent of the total, and it moves with global fuel prices.
Is VAT charged on electricity in The Bahamas?
Yes. VAT of 10% is applied to both the energy usage and the fuel charge in each billing cycle. Some accounts are billed without VAT depending on their classification, so it is worth checking whether the line appears on your own bill.
What rate does solar actually save me?
Your marginal rate, not your average one. Solar offsets your most expensive consumption first, so for a household using more than 800 kWh a month each generated unit is worth close to $0.40 including VAT. This is why savings estimates based on marginal rates are the correct way to model a solar investment.
See what your own rate means in savings
Bring us a recent bill and we will show you exactly which bands you are paying into, and what a system sized for your roof would remove from it.
Calculate your savingsBook a free consultation