The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A well-known retailer locked in a Supreme Court battle with the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) yesterday dismissed the report on its metering/billing practices as “fluff” and a whitewash, although he and the island’s major industrial players would accept a one-third reduction in electricity rates.

Jeff Butler, proprietor of Butler’s Food World, told Tribune Business that the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report was too narrowly focused and gave the impression that “if they’re reading the meter better, everything will be fine”.

Arguing that the root causes of Grand Bahama’s high electricity costs went deeper than metering and billing, Mr Butler said he was saving $10,000 per month in energy costs at Butler’s Food World by running his generator instead of using GBPC’s supply.

And he told Tribune Business that while energy costs in developed countries were often as low as $0.11 per kilowatt hour (KwH), he and Grand Bahama’s major industrial companies were willing to accept $0.25-$0.26 per KwH - a one-third, or 34.2 per cent reduction on GBPC’s average $0.38-$0.39 per KwH.

Disclosing that Butler’s Food World’s battle with the GBPC was due to resume this Friday before the Supreme Court, Mr Butler dismissed the PwC report’s findings and called for an electricity industry specialist to assess the firm’s electricity meters.

“All of this is a fluff,” Mr Butler told Tribune Business of the PwC report. “What they’re saying is if you read the meter better, everything will be fine.

“All they did was some of the meter stuff. It’s garbage. What was the point.”

He suggested that the main problem stemmed from the desire of GBPC’s 80 per cent majority shareholder, Canadian power giant Emera, to generate returns for its shareholders via Grand Bahama’s electricity consumers.

And, dismissing suggestions that GBPC was looking at liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel source that could deliver up to 80 per cent of the island’s energy needs as “not practical and not safe”, Mr Butler felt this was being aired to keep Grand Bahamians happy.

“They [GBPC] need to get it to $0.25 per KwH flat, and that way there will be no suggestion that they are manipulating the rate,” Mr Butler told Tribune Business.

“I’ve talked to Polymers, Pharmachem and the Grand Bahama Shipyard, and for us to operate in any other country we’d be looking at $0.11 per KwH. We’re willing to pay $0.25-$0.26 per KwH, but not $0.38-$0.39 per KwH.

“It’s absurd. We have to compete with the rest of the world. I’m spending $4,000 per week, $16,000 a month, on my generator, and they’re [GBPC] billing me for $26,000, so I’m saving $10,000 a month.”

Calling on Prime Minister Perry Christie to get involved in addressing Grand Bahama’s energy woes, Mr Butler said his court battle with GBPC was set to resume on July 20.

He is challenging his GBPC power bill, but said the Power Company had backed away from seeking a Supreme Court Order barring Butler’s Food World from running its generator.

This was confirmed to Tribune Business by other sources, who suggested that GBPC feared the wrong outcome might set a dangerous precedent, especially given that many of Grand Bahama’s major employers were already using their generators at least part-time.

GBPC has also not explicitly denied, despite being given the opportunity to do so, Mr Butler’s assertion that its chief financial officer, Tony Lopez, sent him an e-mail threatening to cut off his other business, Butler’s Specialty Foods, despite the fact it was a separate company and current with its power bill.

“All I want from the court is to get them [GBPC] off my back,” Mr Butler told Tribune Business. “If I want to run my generator, I can run my generator. The goal is to get the cost of power back for Grand Bahama.”

In response to Mr Butler’s claim, GBPC said in a statement: “GBPC has tried diligently to work with Harbour Lobster and Fish Company (Butlers) in resolving their energy costs, and to find a mutually beneficial payment agreement. Unfortunately, this has not been successful.

“There have been several actions taken to bring about resolution, including retaining an agreed-upon independent energy efficiency audit company to assess their use of power and the accuracy of our meters. The results of the audit confirmed that our meters were accurate.”

Referring to its decision to disconnect Butler’s from its system due to non-payment, GBPC added: “We have acted in accordance with our legal rights. In fairness to all customers we must collect on unpaid accounts or terminate service when resolution cannot be found.

“Should Butlers choose to reengage negotiations with respect to their delinquent account, we would be happy to continue discussions. Upon the outstanding bills being paid, or, mutually acceptable arrangements being made for the outstanding bills to be paid over a period of time, service will be re-connected.”