The Tribune

Grand Bahama Power Company yesterday said it is suspending the extra charge it was preparing to add to customer bills from April 1, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The utility said the move occurred “following consultation” with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), its regulator, which had previously approved the Storm Recovery and Stabilization (SRS) charge as way for it to recoup $15.6m in Hurricane Dorian restoration costs over a five-year period.

“Delaying the implementation of the SRS charge is a measure we can take to support our customers during this challenging and quickly evolving time,” said Dave McGregor, GB Power’s president and chief operating officer. “Given the fluidity of the current situation surrounding COVID-19, we can’t say at this time when the SRS charge will become effective.

“As we shared in February we still have work ahead of us to complete restoration island‐wide. We remain committed to east Grand Bahama, and to the restoration of supply to the residents and businesses of those communities.”

Mr McGregor admitted to Tribune Business at the time the extra fee was announced that it was “not an easy sell” to Grand Bahama residents and businesses still trying to recover from Dorian’s ravages.

Acknowledging that an increase in electricity costs was the last thing they wanted, Mr McGregor said the extra charge was “unfortunate” but necessary to rebuild essential energy infrastructure - particularly in the hardest hit parts of east Grand Bahama.

Explaining that the additional fee was a “pass through” like the fuel charge, and that GB Power would not earn a single cent in profit from it, Mr McGregor said this ensured it was “the fairest way for customers to pay” for the restoration of essential energy infrastructure.

The charge for its three customer categories was to be:

• Residential - $0.013 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) or 1.3 cents

• Commercial - $0.008 per kWh or 0.8 cents

• GSL (industrials) - $0.010 per kWh or one cent.

The GBPA added that the Storm Recovery and Stabilisation Charge would represent an increase of less than $7 per month for the “average” residential customer, and $24 for the “average” business customer, in a bid to soften the upcoming blow and any consumer push back/fall-out.

They, though, were not impressed. Pastor Eddie Victor, president of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCC), told Tribune Business that the utility’s move showed “complete disregard and great insensitivity” for the island’s plight.

He added that storm-battered consumers and businesses “cannot bear” the additional levy, and slammed the seeming rush to introduce the new charge without undertaking a full public consultation exercise to obtain feedback from residents and the private sector on the likely impact.

Pastor Victor said the episode further highlighted the need for the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) to take over supervision of GB Power and all other Freeport-based utilities from the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), along with the introduction of energy sector competition - especially in the island’s west and east, and outside the Port area.