The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The FNM”s deputy leader said yesterday that there appears to be “no coordinated approach” over the Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) ong-proposed restructuring, arguing that Bahamian consumers were the ones who will ultimately suffer.

Prime Minister Perry Christie last week said he has not made any announcements on the BEC restructuring process because he wants to be “absolutely sure” that any government decision is made in the Bahamas’ best interest. 

He added that he was holding final meetings to close the door on all options.

But K P Turnquest said yesterday: “I have to think that the Government has maybe realised that the path that they were taking was not necessarily the most  efficient and cost effective for the Bahamian people.

“I think that it is symptomatic of a sort of endemic problem that the Government has, where they just can’t seem to all get on the same page.

“You have the Prime Minster saying one thing, the Deputy Prime Minister saying one thing and the executive chairman saying another.

“There seems to be no coordinated approach to decision making when it comes to this BEC matter. As a result they are all in different directions, and we have yet to have a conclusion. I think at the end of the day the Bahamian people are going to be made to suffer.  It’s unfortunate.”

The Government has moved away from splitting BEC into separate generation and transmission and distribution (T&D) arms, as initially proposed in August 2013, and is instead supposed to be moving forward with a business model that mirrors the Nassau Airport Development Company’s (NAD) arrangement for Lynden Pindling International Airport’s (LPIA) management.

Under that arrangement, the Government will retain 100 per cent equity ownership of BEC even after the private sector manager is in place.

Tribune Business previously reported that Carolinas-based Power Secure is effectively the only contender remaining at the table for the BEC management contract.

However, such a confirmation has reportedly been delayed with Prime Minister Christie confirming to Tribune Business during a trip to Washington last month that he wanted the Obama administration to “absolutely guarantee” the integrity of the US firms it was backing in the BEC process.