The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

AS much as I would like to address several issues affecting Bahamians this week, I’m forced to go with one, BPL, again!!

And obviously I must do it rather quickly as there’s no telling when they will strike again.

Too late, after 3 hours out, 45 minutes back on, you guessed it... off again.

FROM THE BREAK

The more I look at the whole BPL fiasco, from its inception to present.

I can only draw one conclusion; we the Bahamian people deserve better when it comes to our power provider.

Unless their job was really to be a $25m “union breaking” mechanism, BPL has been an epic failure in many regards.

In all honesty, BPL makes me long for the old BEC, and as comical and frightening as that sounds, it’s true.

At least we could gauge how long we would be off, (depending on who Tall Pines MP and former BEC chairman Leslie Miller was “vibing” with).

We knew when the “cutters” from BEC would be out in force - radio adds flooded the airwaves.

We also knew ain’t nothing was happening, if we didn’t “hurry put something on the bill”.

And yes, the bills were “guesstimated”.

VESP LEAVING ME VEX

The VSEP exercise opened to all employees of BPL.

Of BLP’s 1,038 employees, 314 applications were received.

The VSEP exercise will result in more than $70m being paid out over time.

The utility’s chairman Darnell Osborne had previously stated the VSEP exercise would save BPL between $1-$2m per month, or $12-$24m per year.

So, let me get this right, you have key staff leave via VSEP, productivity is suffering, (it’s obvious with the continued intermittent power outages and lack of consistent power provision).

It’s costing us taxpayers $70m over two years, to streamline BPL, so how are we saving $24m a year again?

WHAT ARE WE REALLY PAYING FOR?

Apart from random “black outs” or load shedding, whatever you want to call it, what are we Bahamians paying for, when it comes to power provision in The Bahamas?

I know what we are paying for, our lack of concern and protest initially when our “gubbament” flung this whole BPL nightmare on us.

CANDLELIGHT VIGILS

So as we continue to hold “current on” vigils and lose groceries due to random power cuts caused by “faulty” cables and a nonchalant power provider, we must take the time while we are sitting in the darkness and heat, melting like the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz in solace, to remember that we the voting populous are the power providers for governance in this country, and because of “boo boo” decisions by past and present administrations, in granting lucrative contracts to foreign entities, come election time we may have to play a BPL and pull the plug on their time in office at the polls.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

Well I better run now, BPL has humanely restored power, for how long remains to be seen. Hopefully long enough for me to grab a quick, cold shower, and remove the perspiration from some of the new cracks and crevasses on my body, that I just discovered as I sat sweltering courtesy of BPL, which I’m convinced stands for Baking People Live

BPL YOU HAD ONE JOB

If you needed help BPL just ask for it, God knows we the consumers need it, in regards to your service.

It’s shouldn’t be that hard, after all like George Carlin said - “Electricity is really just organised lighting.”