The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday said Bahamians are demanding that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) provide "quality service" using energy infrastructure that has long since aged "beyond its useful life".

Alfred Sears KC, addressing a media briefing by the Prime Minister's Office, said: "The facts are as follows. BPL hasn't seen a rate increase since 2010 and, up until the [fuel charge] glide path that was recently implemented, we’re asking BPL to provide quality service [using] infrastructure, which has lived beyond its life.

“But I want to say in this press conference, and recognise the ingenuity of BPL technicians and engineers, because in any other company, what they do would be considered as research and development because they take engines that are long past their life, take them apart and reassemble them again and get them running again.”

Mr Sears continued: “The Government's policy and support for BPL will ensure that the company transitions to a modern utility operating on renewables, high efficiency engines and with a robust transmission and distribution infrastructure, which will be more reliable, sustainable and produce more affordable electricity for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“As a BPL customer and consumer I, too, feel the frustration of occasional outages and the electricity failure. Higher consumption and an increase in the fuel charge are a reality not only in The Bahamas but throughout the world, especially countries like The Bahamas which do not produce fossil fuel.

“Therefore, we continue to encourage customers to conserve as much energy as possible. Not only does it lower the electricity bill, but it also lowers the overall demand for electricity.” Mr Sears also reaffirmed that there is an agreement for FOCOL Holdings' subsidiary, Sun Utilities, to provide rental generation to support BPL's own capacity,

Shevonn Cambridge, BPL’s chief executive, subsequently said Bahamas Utility Company (BUC) is the FOCOL subsidiary that the utility has a relationship with. He added: “A present, we currently rent some rental power and we get about 43 Mega Watts (MW) from their two companies. One is the BUC and another.... well, really, both of them are BUC.”