The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Electricity Corporation is extending its disconnection amnesty period by a week, BEC Chairman Leslie Miller said yesterday.

On September 13, Mr Miller said BEC will not disconnect any residential customers who are in arrears beginning Monday, September 16, and ending Monday, September 30.

However, in an interview with The Tribune, Mr Miller said the corporation had decided to extend the time to Monday, October 8.

“Thousands of people took advantage of this incentive, we are happy to say thousands of people came in to the corporation to discuss payment options, so we can see it is working. Mothers who had to spend money to send their kids to school were stopping me in the street thanking me, everywhere I went you can see the benefit,” he said.

“That is why we did it again and that is why we are extending it. I knew the impact it had the first time and it has worked again. So we will extend it until the end of the week, next Friday. So those who have to come into the corporation should do so, work out a plan so you can have light. After next week, BEC goes back to normal. I don’t think people understand the severity of this economic situation we are in, it is very damning. People are hurting, we are in one hell of a crisis and anything we can do at the corporation to help, we will do, no matter how small some people may think it is.”

Mr Miller also appealed to customers to come into one of BEC’s locations, whether in New Providence or the Family Islands, and make arrangements to ensure that after this reprieve ends, they are still able to enjoy uninterrupted supply of electricity.
He said the corporation will also continue to offer affordable payment arrangements to customers who find themselves challenged with keeping up to date with their electricity bills.

“This has been a tremendous help and therefore something the corporation will continue over the next two months. To explain, any customer who pays their entire overdue balance in the month of September and October will receive a 10 per cent discount on that portion of the bill more than 60 days overdue,” he said.

“Additionally, we will also give a 2 per cent discount to those customers with outstanding balance who pay their bill on time and in full.”