By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
PHENTON Neymour, former State Minister for the Environment, said yesterday the government should “cover the cost” of the $30 price hike in electricity bills instead of “forcing BEC customers to pay for their incompetence.”
Mr Neymour told The Tribune it is “unchristian” of the PLP and Leslie Miller, the BEC chairman, to make customers pay more money for less service.
His comments came one day after Mr Miller said customers can expect to see an increase of “about $25 to $30” in their October bill. He said running the Blue Hills Power Plant at full capacity to meet the demand after two engines shut down at the Clifton Pier plant has caused a slight increase in the fuel surcharge.
However, Mr Miller told The Tribune load shedding in the capital has ended, meaning that the increase will only be for one month.
Mr Neymour said charging customers more is unacceptable and the government should “swallow” the increase rather than “pushing” it on Bahamians who can “barely afford to pay their electricity bills as it is now”.
“Mr Leslie Miller announced customers have to pay more as a result of the blackouts which in my view he caused. It is wrong for Bahamians to be charged for sub-par service being provided by BEC. Bahamians should not have to pay due to poor management,” he said.
“This is a perfect example of how insensitive the PLP is. I recommend that they return to the policies of the FNM and follow what we left in place. We placed a cap on the fuel surcharge at 26 cents per kilowatt and now the PLP has allowed it to go as high as 30 cents, the highest it has ever been.
“The government should provide BEC with the $3m or $4m to cover the additional fuel. They need to recognise that Bahamians can not bear anymore and should not have to bear the responsibility for poor decision making and the weakness of the government in addressing the insanity of Leslie Miller.
“The Bahamian people should not have to pay. Why would you ask someone to pay more money for less service? It is wrong and it is unchristian.”
On Monday Mr Miller blamed the price hike on the frequent power outages in the capital. “We use more fuel at Blue Hills than we do at Clifton so there will be a little spike, like two cents for a kilowatt, so for the average customer it would be about $25 to $30 a month but they won’t see it until the October bill,” he said. “It will only be for that bill because we are back to normal now.
“How long it will be this way, I cannot say because these things have become very frequent. We will not be able to guarantee anything until someone comes in and brings new equipment.”
BEC has been plagued with power outages for several months and Mr Miller said this is the “worst he has ever seen it.”
Earlier this month he said that without a new power plant, which will cost about $200m, the country will continue to be plagued by outages that will worsen when Baha Mar, the mega resort at Cable Beach, is added to the grid next year.
Comments
The_Oracle 10 years, 1 month ago
Giving these idiots press is the greatest mistake, Bahamians keep eating up their garbage instead of waking up to reality!
B_I_D___ 10 years, 1 month ago
I do understand the 'logic' of sorts of the fuel upcharge...but not in this context...because you all failed in maintaining the generators and were forced to run other generators...you eat that, not me. If I am meant to be supplying something to someone on a regular quoted price, and for whatever reason I run out and have to express something in at higher expense to me to meet your demand...sorry, I pay the added expense for my stupidity and oversight, not my customer.
The_Oracle 10 years, 1 month ago
Surely Mr. Neymour knows that if the Government eats it, the People will eat it! Invoking Christianity, even the devil can read and quote the Bible.
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 1 month ago
I agree. Can we please stop using God's name in vain. It's sleazy.
BoopaDoop 10 years, 1 month ago
Forcing Bahamians to pay $30 on top of their electricity bill is the same principle as forcing Bahamians to pay VAT. Someone knows nothing about operations and financial management so they are passing the losses incurred on to the customer.
Reprecussions 10 years, 1 month ago
I don't see the comparison. VAT even though it's the wrong king of tax is needed. We need an attentional revenue stream in the Bahamas to cut some of this debt.
BoopaDoop 10 years, 1 month ago
REPERCUSSIONS? I think that is the correct spelling. Yeah, a tax is needed. VAT was whipped up because the government is overspending on contracts issued to friends and not collecting duty, property tax, N.I.B. contributions,etc. effectively. They are in a hole and need the citizens to bail them out. A lottery would be better. Those who want to play willfully throw there money at the government. Those who don't get to keep their money.
SP 10 years, 1 month ago
Without question every country needs taxation to function. The problem here is income tax is simply a more equitable form of taxation than VAT.
Income tax, however, would mean government and the good old boys cartels would have to firstly divulge sources of income & secondly pay a higher amount than the average worker simply because they earn more.
In other words Christie, Ingraham and the sunshine boys are protecting their pockets and joining the Haitians in riding the backs of poor Bahamians.
Bahamas676 10 years, 1 month ago
Vat can be covered if the number house was owned by the government and not some fucking retard buying phantoms get out of here pussy, moneys from the number house suppose to be reinserted back in to the infrastructure of the economy not buying million dollar houses and balling out in clubs.
The_Oracle 10 years, 1 month ago
Perhaps then we should reduce the debt by seizing the offshore accounts of Politicians past and present? That aught to be a nice tidy not so small fortune. After all, they wasted/spent/stole it from us. In what profession other than politics can one get away with what is gotten away with? There are two, but one so closely associated..... mention is not really needed.
HolandObserver 10 years, 1 month ago
the back and forth wrangling between these two is quite annoying.
TalRussell 10 years, 1 month ago
Never thought of BEC as being unchristian but what the hell? You know BEC has be in a a total mess when Comrade Phenton's voice starts sounding rational and reasonable. Just another red shirts leadership hopeful trying establish he campaign platform. Oh yeah, yesterday I heard him say he would not close the door to contesting the party's leadership?
themessenger 10 years, 1 month ago
I wonder what would happen if we ALL refused to pay, would/could they disconnect ALL of us? It has been said that a people get the government they deserve but until more of us let the politicos know that we deserve better it is what it is. I'm beginning to wonder how bad another three years without a Prime Mister will be, its not just BEC that's dysfunctional.
SP 10 years, 1 month ago
With the strike finally happening, now is the time to sort out these pirates once and for all.
As painful as it will be for everyone, we need to use this opportunity to shut the country down completely and deal with all the nanny the government has been getting away with for 4 decades at the expense of Bahamians.
We don't want to have to go through this strike thing again, so lets bite the bullet get it all done now.
The_Oracle 10 years, 1 month ago
I wonder who was on Phenton's special do not disconnect list........ Hows about they both give their lists to the tribune........
asiseeit 10 years, 1 month ago
This country is unchristian, it's as simple as that!
tinktink 10 years, 1 month ago
The government should cover the cost? How exactly, by increasing VAT? What an idiotic suggestion.
Really, "unchristian"? Mr. Neymour, I am going to need for you to have a few seats and come back with a better suggestion as to how to combat this financial problem, one where the people do not pay directly or indirectly. Or one where we can work on more efficient and less expensive cost.
John 10 years, 1 month ago
One thing you learn about in accounting is 'retained earnings'. This is an amount of profit a company keeps in the company for capital investments, renovations expansions or unexpected events. B.E.C should have been on a cycle where it changed one of its engines every 5 years. That way all of its equipment would not grow old at the same time and it would always have reliable equipment. What is going to happen to Bahamasair's aging fleet when it is deem that these aircraft are no longer airworthy and needs to be replaced? Politics and business is not a good thing.
SP 10 years, 1 month ago
The concept of 'retained earnings' is elementary and makes absolute perfect sense.
But can you think of one instance when the PLP or FNM made a "perfect sense" decision on anything?
Nothing in this dam country functions properly with the exception of freeloading Haitians riding the backs of tax paying Bahamians like donkeys.
Tommy77 10 years, 1 month ago
@B_I_D___ ..I agree.
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SP 10 years, 1 month ago
Where will government get the funds to "cover" this expenditure Mr. Neymour?
Mr. Neymour is obviously one of Hubert Ingrahams jelly belly idiots that tried telling us 49% is the same as 51%.
STFU Phenton!
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