The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Businesses were yesterday urged to mitigate the impact of rising energy and fuel costs by allowing the remote working practices that flourished as a result of COVID-19 to continue.

Philip Darville, owner/operator of SolveIt Bahamas, told Tribune Business he is “prepared for $6 per gallon” gasoline prices given that pump prices are already close to $5.50 and the summer season is still months away.

“With the tensions in the Ukraine, I can definitely see $6 gasoline here by next month,” he said. “To me, this is already guaranteed. I think I read something where they said it will be $6 internationally very soon, so if it will be $6 internationally and in the US, it will most likely be $8 here. The Family Islands will get it worst.”

The last time gas prices rose to almost $6 per gallon was during the 2008 financial crisis, when oil prices surged well past the $100 per barrel threshold. “Fuel is something that impacts businesses from the ground up,” Mr Darville said.

“That’s your air conditioning systems, and it’s not only for your vehicle. All of that adds to your overall energy costs, but as a business owner I have been prepared for this.”

He added: “I encourage other business owners to allow their employees to continue this hybrid work system where your non-essential employees can work from home. This can help everyone to conserve on gasoline and energy.

“We have managed this work from home system for this long, so we can keep it up for a while longer if we need to. I think bigger companies should promote the idea of remote work more.”

Dwayne Higgs, WHIM Automotive’s general manager, said he “knew” gasoline prices will continue to rise due to the threat of an all-out military conflict between the Ukraine and Russia. “This didn’t take me by surprise at all,” he added of rising costs at the pump.

“We’ve been through this before and it really wasn’t a good place back in 2008. Gasoline hit $5.95, if I can remember correctly, and that was when I started to ride my little moped to work in order to save on gas. In this time people may have to car pool because, unfortunately, that is just the world we are living in right now.”

Energy and gasoline conservation measures will have to be employed again, but Mr Higgs said he was not so keen on extending remote work especially since some staff are still required for face-to-face contact such as sales people who deal with customers over-the-counter.

He added: “The businesses that can are already taking advantage of the remote work environment. If you don’t need to be in the office then you don’t have to be. People have been struggling with this for decades, but some of the older employers want to be able to look at their employees and gauge their productivity. There is no easy way to see someone’s productivity levels in this remote environment.”