The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) will have “no problem at all” meeting electricity demand once the Baha Mar mega resort comes on stream, its executive chairman telling The Tribune that it was “not probable or possible” for any firm to reduce the cost of energy in the country by 50-60 per cent.

Mr Miller’s remarks came in response to statements made recently by Taylor Cheek, head of the Caribbean Power Partners consortium, one of several firms to have presented a power generation proposal to the Government. In an interview with this newspaper Mr Cheek said their proposal had the potential to reduce current consumer bills by 50-60 per cent.

Mr Miller however appears to be unimpressed, claiming that some of the statements made by company executives relative to their proposal were “grossly overstated” and “unachievable to say the least.”

Mr Miller also took exception to the suggestion that the country’s major electricity provider would not be able to handle the extra demand Baha Mar’s $2.6 billion Cable Beach project will provide come late 2014.

“We are already doing so. We will have no problem providing Baha Mar with all of their electricity needs, no problem at all,” said Mr Miller.

“We have met with them [Caribbean Power Partners] several times and we have seen lots of holes in their project. We have looked at many proposals. I think some of their statements are grossly overstated, unachievable to say the least. When you scrutinise what they have to say on paper it doesn’t add up. It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. I take offence to it as a Bahamian and the executive chairman of BEC. We have met with this company, scrutinised their proposal, gone over it in minute details with them and many questions are left to be answered. There is no way they can live up to what they have on paper. No one can decrease the cost of electricity in this country by 50 or 60 per cent. It is not possible, it’s not probable. We even spoke with Florida Power & Light and if we were to run a cable from Florida to The Bahamas, the cost associated with it, you cannot decrease the cost of electricity to the consumer by 50 or 60 per cent,” said Mr Miller.

Caribbean Power Partners is proposing to sell power to BEC at $0.17 per KwH, a price it says is “more than 60 per cent less” what the state-owned power monopoly currently charges Bahamian consumers. Mr Miller asserted however that two weekends ago BEC’s Clifton power station was producing electricity at $0.17 cents per kilowatt hour, down from around $0.28 cents per kilowatt hour.

Caribbean Power Partners’ proposal, which aims to construct, own and operate a 300 Mega Watt (MW) generation plant that will meet all New Providence’s energy needs, would eliminate fuel wastage through its ability to use multiple different fuels - largely liquefied natural gas (LNG) and/or propane.

Mr Miller said: “I find it interesting really, that their cost for infrastructure for their LNG regasification terminal is $100 million. Other parties have it as high as $250 million. I didn’t pay much attention to their proposals for regasification terminals because if we couldn’t do it with Ocean Cay I don’t see that taking place at Clifton with what is going on there now.”