About LightWatch242
A community record for The Bahamas' grid.
LightWatch242 helps Bahamians report and track power outages, broken streetlights, low-voltage problems, and outage-related appliance damage — through WhatsApp and the web. When several different people report the same kind of issue in the same area, it becomes a verified outage cluster on the public map, so everyone can see what's really happening across New Providence and the Family Islands.
How verification works
- 1. Someone reports an issue — via WhatsApp or the web form. It appears on the map as a single, unverified report with an approximate location.
- 2. Neighbours confirm it — related symptoms (outage, flickering, low voltage) in the same area count together as one signal.
- 3. The cluster verifies — once 3 or more different people report within the same window, the area pulses on the map as a verified cluster. One person submitting repeatedly doesn't count as three.
- 4. It resolves — when reports stop or the community confirms restoration, the cluster winds down and joins the historical record.
What LightWatch is — and isn't
LightWatch242 is an independent community platform. It is not affiliated with Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) or any official utility provider, and it is not an emergency service.
⚠️ For downed power lines, electrical fires, or any emergency, call BPL at 302-1800 or emergency services at 919 first.
We don't editorialize and we don't assign blame. LightWatch publishes what the community reports — verified, timestamped, and by area — and lets the facts speak. Reports shown on the platform are community-submitted and may require verification.
Appliance damage
If an outage or surge damaged your appliances, report it here and keep everything — the appliance, receipts, photos, repair estimates. Don't discard damaged equipment before inspection. When a verified outage cluster exists for your area and time, your report is linked to it, which strengthens any claim you choose to file through BPL's own published claims process. A guided claim-packet helper is coming in a future update.
Who builds this
LightWatch242 is built by First Glance Bahamas as part of a wider civic-tech effort for The Bahamas. Questions, corrections, or partnership ideas are welcome.