The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

AS he declared the cost of electricity will eventually go down, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the government intends to move forward with legislation that allows homeowners to have some degree of solar power.

In the meantime, he said the government was working aggressively to maintain lower power costs because at its current rate businesses find electricity “prohibitive” and homeowners say it is “damaging” to their wallets.

“I have been informed that the cost of electricity will go down,” Dr Minnis said following the launch of Nassau Agencies’ “Going Green” project. “I cannot say when but I know that BPL and the minister responsible (are) working aggressively.

“You see what is happening here (referring to the green energy launch event), I know that we will be moving forward with bringing legislation to ensure that each home has some form of solarisation that will be attached especially to the water heater. That would have a dramatic improvement on their electricity bill.

“But we will be working aggressively to decrease the cost of electricity that is cost prohibitive to many businesses and its damaging to many homes.”

Late last month, the prime minister said a company was selected to probe the rising cost of electricity, but the details could not be made public because the matter had not yet gone before Cabinet.

The House of Assembly also recently passed an amendment to increase the value added tax exemption on electricity bills to $300. This does not expire until July 1, 2019.

It came into force on November 1 and amends the second schedule to the VAT Act by “increasing the qualifying threshold for the value added tax exemption on a supply of electricity service by any utility service provider from $200 or below per billing cycle to $300 or below per billing cycle.”

Consumers are expected to see the change in their January billing cycles.

Increased light bills have been a point of contention for consumers and was part of the reason for a large protest on Bay Street last month.

Recognising that many people struggle to financially afford the spike in costs, Dr Minnis has told reporters the government will do whatever it can to relieve this stress.

“We have committees looking at it,” Dr Minnis told reporters outside Parliament recently. “We understand that there are some people having challenges with light bills and we are cognizant of that and we will do whatever we can to try and relieve their pain and their stress. “That’s what a good government does,” he said.

The price of oil has fallen globally about 25 percent because major producers are pumping oil at a high rate, according to international reports.

“The international benchmark, Brent, was down $2.20 at $59.36 a barrel on a day when stock markets also fell sharply around the world,” American outlet PBS.org reported yesterday. “The fall in the price of oil will be a help to many consumers as well as energy-hungry businesses, particularly at a time when global growth is slowing.”