The Tribune

BY FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power & Light‘s (BPL) executive chair yesterday declined to confirm whether consumers will receive additional financial relief following weeks of widespread outages, saying any decision rests with the Government.

Christina Alston’s comments came days after Prime Minister Philip Davis said he had asked BPL to explore providing additional relief to customers affected by repeated electricity disruptions.

Asked whether consumers should expect further bill credits, Mrs Alston said she had not yet discussed the matter with either the Prime Minister or energy minister, Jobeth Coleby-Davis.

"I can't speak to that yet. I haven't had a chance to speak with the minister or the PM since I've been working. I think it's a valid question. I'm not discounting your question. I just haven't gotten any details on that yet,” she replied.

Pressed on whether consumers deserve compensation given the prolonged outages, Mrs Alston said rebates have historically produced mixed reactions from customers. "I think that's a difficult question," she said.

"When utilities give rebates, often it's not received positively. If you are a consumer and I say to you: 'Well, I'm going to give you a rebate,' and it's $45 or it's $100, at what point does it become something that consumers are satisfied with? We recognise that, in the utility space, we're not going to please all the people all the time."

Mrs Alston said any decision on additional customer relief ultimately belongs to the Davis administration. "That's something for the PM and the ministry to address and to instruct, as we are their entity," she said.

"This is a company owned by the Bahamian people, and when we receive those instructions, I'm sure there'll be those who say, 'Well, it's not enough’, and then there'll be those who may say, 'Well, thank you’."

Mrs Alston also defended recent increases in electricity bills, arguing they are being driven by unusually high summer temperatures rather than higher electricity rates.

"The fuel rate did not change this summer, nor did the base rate," she said. "Those two things have remained constant." Instead, the BPL executive chair said consumers are using substantially more electricity because of prolonged extreme heat.

"I would have anticipated your consumption to have gone up about 30 percent from your previous year," said Mrs Alston. "Last June we only had seven days over 90 degrees. This year June we had close to 19 days."

She encouraged customers to review the consumption graph printed on their monthly bills and to request an energy audit if they believe their usage appears unusually high.

"We're launching our energy audit programme this month," said Mrs Alston. "You can call in and get an energy audit." She added that BPL's longer-term grid modernisation programme will eventually allow customers to monitor spending in real time and receive alerts before exceeding self-selected monthly electricity budgets.