The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) chief executive yesterday conceded that limited payment options may have exacerbated unpaid customer bills in some Family Islands.

Whitney Heastie, speaking as BPL unveiled its $95m deal with Wärtsilä for new generation capacity in New Providence, told Tribune Business: “I know that it’s been a challenge in the Out Islands around BPL not having the proper outlets for payment receipt. I don’t think it’s been around customer willingness to pay.

“A lot of the banks have closed on the islands and, certainly, when you get to some of the southern islands we don’t even have regular collections. We have just sort of stayed away from collections for so long that the campaign we recently did in the southern Bahamas was to really get in front of all of this and give people a ‘heads up’.”

Mr Heastie was unable to say how much BPL is owed by customers in the Family Islands. The utility has advised customers they could be left in darkness for failing to adequately pay their bills from March 15, and has undertaken a full-scale media campaign to advise that mass disconnections are coming. Some of the constituencies to be targeted include Exuma and Ragged Island and MICAL.

Pedro Rolle, the Exuma Chamber of Commerce’s president, suggested in an interview with Tribune Business on Monday that small businesses in remote Family Islands agree with BPL to pay a fixed monthly sum that is based on their historical energy usage.

This, he argued, would transform electricity from a variable to a fixed, predictable cost for small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs, thereby preventing them from running up huge power bills they are unable to afford.

Mr Rolle explained that this fixed monthly sum could be adjusted annually according to each business’ consumption patterns, with an additional charge/credit given if the prior year’s usage underestimated or exceeded what had been agreed.

To this, Mr Heastie responded: “I think that what we want to be looking at is more balanced billing. I think what is catching customers sort of off-guard is when their bills go up disproportionately to what they would anticipate. That’s simply a matter of kilowatt hours consumed.

“We would have to check with the regulator (URCA) to see if we could do this. We would level off someone’s bills over 12 months and, at end of that, you have what’s called a true-up, where you make a slight adjustment up or down.

“We know in summer people use more electricity and, in the winter, they burn less, so you sort of average that over a 12 month-period and that’s what they would pay. If that’s what’s being referenced then that is something we should be looking at and be talking to our regulator about.”