BEC Chairman Leslie Miller
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Electricity Corporation Executive Chairman Leslie Miller yesterday contradicted a statement sent by the company warning customers with overdue balances to pay their outstanding bills by tomorrow or be disconnected.
In a press release yesterday morning, BEC announced that residential customers with overdue accounts should pay “all outstanding arrears on their electricity accounts immediately” in order to avoid interruption of supply when the corporation begins disconnection exercises tomorrow.
However, Mr Miller said “he is fighting” to stop the disconnections that will affect thousands of customers because it is “hypocritical” and “goes against the mandate of the PLP”.
“It’s contradictory because the minister has given us a mandate to turn on as many Bahamians as we can,” Mr Miller said. “But because of our severe financial situation now we have to roll back to asking our customers to step up to the plate and try to assist us in paying the bills. That’s difficult for any Bahamian in the business as well as the private sector.
“It is unfair to ask customers to pay 50 per cent of their bill to be reconnected when they don’t have it. I am fighting this, we will revisit this. It is not final. In residential, we’re supposed to go in certain areas and tell you in advance what the situation is. We have to look at that again because in these perilous times it’s difficult for people to pay.
“We even asking them to pay 50 per cent of the back balance, that is almost impossible to do and I argued that - we have to revisit that this week. Plus, with the history of BEC, it is hard to get those re-connectors to turn the lights back on immediately, so you looking at people being off until Monday if they are turned off on Friday.”
Mr Miller admitted that the corporation is in dire need of money, but he said there must be other alternatives, rather than leaving customers in the dark.
In the statement BEC said: “Residential customers with overdue account(s) balance(s) will be allowed to pay 50 per cent of outstanding arrears and pay the remaining balance over a period of six months. We believe that this will assist our customers who are finding it difficult to pay off large account balances in full, while also improving BEC’s bottom line.”
“The Corporation further advises its customers that it will reinstate disconnection exercises on Fridays beginning this Friday, July 25, 2014. Customers will be advised of disconnection exercises via the media, prior to disconnection activities. BEC’s Mall at Marathon location will be open 9am to 4pm on Saturdays to accept payments, make credit arrangements and for reconnection activities.”
Comments
proudloudandfnm 10 years, 5 months ago
Man. Why are these amateurs in charge? If they don't pay they get cut off. If you intervene and stop the disconnections then what happens? Their bill increases every day. So when will they ever be able to pay? You're not doing them any favors by allowing their bill to grow.....
B_I_D___ 10 years, 5 months ago
6 months in arrears? SMT...I can't go one week past a due date without them knocking on my door to disconnect. Guess between skin color and neighborhood I'm on their hit list!!
TalRussell 10 years, 5 months ago
Comrades am I missing something here? I cannot help but wonder, if Tribune readers too is wondering like I am wondering. Is there not sufficient public knowledge evidence of an actual conflict of interest (like being in payment default of $100,000 on your own light bill) - why in the hell isn't the political appointee Chairman "Pot cake" at BEC, not being forced to recuse himself as far away as possible from interfering with anything to do with BEC's day to day management's efforts at carrying out non-payment of customers lights disconnections?
B_I_D___ 10 years, 5 months ago
I seem to recall a statement by our dear potcake that it did not make good business sense to cut customers off, as they are then no longer 'consuming' and you are losing business...but here is the thing...they can't pay the bill in the first place, so are you going to keep supplying them when they can't pay what they owe? Heck no...would a drug dealer keep supplying with drugs when you aren't paying him...or promise to pay him and you don't? HECK no...he'd put your lights out...and so should BEC!!
Clamshell 10 years, 5 months ago
Wanna bet on how many these people say they cant pay coz money too tight, but they have a cell phone and cable? Wanna bet?
B_I_D___ 10 years, 5 months ago
Can bet ya BTC don't let them use their phone when they run out of minutes...and Cable gonna cut ya off quick...and ya car just doesn't decide to keep on running when you run it out of fuel...yeap yeap yeap...money tight.
sheeprunner12 10 years, 5 months ago
Leslie says that BEC has $180 million in accounts receivables ................ 75% of that are homes ......................and he doesnt want to cut off homes (5000 off now) ........ but we hear he owes six figures, Jones owes six figures and on and on ......... I dont believe him. When VAT is added to the high rates we paying ................. there will be more accounts in default. This is a LOSE/LOSE proposal
Cornel 10 years, 5 months ago
Just cut the number of BEC employees, Cut off the people that do not pay, and collect all of the fees and taxes that are due and all will be fine in Bahamaland and there will be no need for VAT or anything else
Hogfish 10 years, 5 months ago
he's just saying all this cuz he still owes $130k+ so either he'll get cut off or he'll be in conflict again.... but that een never stopped him in the past. and sip sip say lady slop also owes $50k+ , you think they gonna cut her off?! lol!
observer2 10 years, 5 months ago
The crux of the matter is that electricity is too expensive and out of reach for the average Bahamian. Now with VAT being added onto BEC bills more Bahamian will fall into the category of being unable to keep the light on.
This is one of the hottest summers on record and with global warming and a flawed and convoluted energy vision for the Bahamas, you can expect BEC costs to continue to climb.
I've compared BEC rates to Florida Power and Light (FPL) for a residential property and noted that BEC is 209% more than FPL for electricity and 641% more for the fuel surcharges. Overall BEC charges 382% more than FPL for electricity.
For a residential property burning over 800 Kwh BEC charges 0.1495 per Kwh and fuel of 0.252873 per Kwh for a total charge of 0.4024 per Kwh.
For a residential property burning over 1,000 Kwh FPL charges 0.07159 per Kwh and fuel of 0.03947 per Kwh for a total charge of 0.11106 per Kwh.
A comprehensive energy vision for the Bahamas would include selling 100% of BEC to Bahamian private enterprises and the general public through an IPO (get government out of the electricity business like all developed nations have done), splintering BEC into stand alone 'baby' BECs by island, introduction of solar energy, introduction of waste to energy processing, recycling, introduction of competition (eg. Cable voice v. BTC voice services), allow citizens to sell energy back to the grid and hive off the electrical grid to a separate to serve all electrical companies.
Through the Freedom of Information Act we could have determined why the fuel surcharges are 641% more expensive than Florida. However I can only guess that it is the difference in cost of diesel v. gas, plant efficiency/age, freight, lack of competition in the supply of diesel to BEC, mark ups by government and private concerns (cartel like behavior) on the purchase of diesel. I can't tell but it feels like someone is getting rich off of us.
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 5 months ago
I agree, it doesn't make sense A: for electricity to cost as much as food and B: for the Electrical MONOPOLY collecting all of this money to be dead broke. Somebody stealing either by way of embezzlement, not giving work for pay or submitting inequitable overpriced contracts. Somebody stealing big-time and the personS in charge straight up to the minister have to know about it! cause it doesn't add up.
jlcandu 10 years, 4 months ago
Who do you think they are purchasing the fuel from? Frankie Wilson, of course. That is the main reason why they are dilly-dallying over this privatisation exercise -- Frankie won't be able to make all that money off the diesel, so they have to figure out another way for him to make the same money.
To hell with the consumers!!!
The_Oracle 10 years, 5 months ago
"However, Mr Miller said “he is fighting” to stop the disconnections that will affect thousands of customers because it is “hypocritical” and “goes against the mandate of the PLP”. Let's get this right, The mandate of the PLP is to alleviate any personal responsibility for one's bills, and for government to cover same with taxpayer burden? Now who is being hypocritical? It is a truism that the PLP duck and dodge personal accountability at every turn, but there seems to be no sense left, they degenerating into free fall, unfortunately taking the country with them! Mr. Miller, you made, and continue to make the correlation that businesses should not be disconnected as they employ etc etc AND THERE ARE MANY BUSINESSES THAT DO NOT or CANNOT PAY.... Can you please name and shame them as you were so named and shamed? I think the public should know, and If a dozen of you step up to pay once shamed, BEC could benefit from millions in revenue made good!
eyeswideopen 10 years, 5 months ago
So!!!! Is Leslie Miller going to be the first one to be disconnected?????? Or will he be first in line to pay his outstanding bill IN FULL...... IN CASH????????
proudloudandfnm 10 years, 4 months ago
This dumb ass said a couple weeks ago that you can't cut off businesses. Now he's saying ya can't just cut off homes....
CAN SOMEONE SEND THIS DUMB ASS TO A SCHOOL PLEASE???!?!?!?
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