The Tribune

• Disconnected despite being payment plan current

• Urges debt be ‘offset’ with $498k damages claim

• Staff ‘heartbroken’ amid wait for re-opening nod

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Fusion Superplex was yesterday locked in urgent negotiations with Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) after its electricity was cut-off over a $506,000 debt despite fully complying with a payment plan.

Carlos Foulkes, the cinema and entertainment complex’s chief executive, told Tribune Business it had pulled off the “remarkable achievement” of staying current with its electricity bills for the past five months despite revenues being reduced to the bare minimum by the COVID-19 enforced closure of most outlets.

He argued, though, that it was now “untenable” for BPL to demand it cover more than half a million dollars in prior arrears given that the utility’s 100 percent owner, the government, was responsible for its inability to pay by refusing to allow it to re-open more than 11 months since the first pandemic-related lockdown.

Mr Foulkes also revealed that Fusion Superplex has a $498,000 outstanding claim against the state-owned energy monopoly over equipment it alleges was damaged by voltage fluctuations in so-called “brown outs”, but said BPL has so far refused to offset the two sums owed despite being similar in size.

The Fusion Superplex chief, who ended his conversation with Tribune Business to take a call from BPL’s chief executive, Whitney Heastie, said: “The goal was to keep the current payments, which we have been doing. They [BPL] are demanding payment of arrears, which we are unable to make under these conditions.

“We have only one outlet [the Edge outdoor dining restaurant] open with limited seating. We agreed with them we will keep current, but we can’t deal with the arrears until we are back up and operational. We have made payments for the last five months, which is a remarkable achievement in the circumstances. We don’t disagree that we owe the arrears, but it’s untenable” to demand they be paid now.

Mr Foulkes added: “We’re negotiating with them right now. What is owed on the arrears is $506,000. Our position to them is: You owe us $498,000. We have a claim in against them for damages to equipment of up to $498,000. They’ve been sitting on that for two years.

“Offset the two. That’s all we’ve been asking for, but we’ve not heard from them on the matter since February 2020. They’ve not addressed our issues. Be patient with us; we’re being patient with you. These are extraordinary circumstances.”

Mr Foulkes did not give specifics on when the BPL arrears date from, whether this debt or a significant portion was incurred before the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns struck in late March 2020, or when the payment plan was agreed.

However, he told this newspaper that Fusion Superplex, which overlooks the intersection of Gladstone Road and JFK Drive, had seen its hopes of being able to re-open in first November, then December 2020, dashed by the Government and its ‘Competent Authority’.

It was subsequently only given permission to open Edge, its outdoor restaurant and dining facility, but its return is now in jeopardy unless the BPL dispute is satisfactorily resolved. Mr Foulkes said both the Ministry of Health and Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) had given Fusion Superplex the go-ahead to open its cinemas with 33 percent capacity and “staggered showings”.

He added: “We’re waiting on the Competent Authority to do their homework and give us approval. I hope it’s imminent. Not knowing the date is the biggest problem for planning. With the power out, it’s a problem, no doubt about it. We’re trying to make it. We’re running on a stand-by generator but it cannot carry the load indefinitely.”

A BPL spokesperson declined to comment on the situation, although sources confirmed that Fusion Superplex does have a payment plan with the utility. It was previously revealed that the company also has a payment plan with the National Insurance Board (NIB).

The situation highlights another aspect of COVID-19’s economic devastation, raising questions as to whether BPL and other utilities should be disconnecting struggling businesses and homeowners who simply lack the means to pay as this only threatens to further increase job losses and economic misery.

However, BPL and its fellow utilities will likely equally argue that they are not charities, and that they need customers to pay what is due - especially six-figure outstanding bills - so they can keep the electricity supply and other services running for the benefit of all Bahamians.

Fusion Superplex staff, though, interpreted BPL’s actions as being the equivalent of kicking someone when they are already down and hurting. Fears were voiced over how the situation will impact staff recalled at Edge, as well as the complex’s prospects for re-opening and recalling more of its workforce.

Nikolette Elden, Fusion Superplex’s marketing manager, told Tribune Business she was “heartbroken” at the latest developments while later confirming that electricity supply was still disconnected as this newspaper went to press last night.

“We’ve been closed almost a year and there’s only so much you can survive being closed a year,” she added. “There’s only so much you can do to sustain the operation. From last year we suffered a blow with BPL damaging our equipment. It caused us to be on generator power from 5pm through the night, and we have yet to hear from BPL on that matter.

“Right now they have disconnected us but we are up-to-date with our payments. We have a payment plan in place, and are up to date with those payments but there are some arrears.” Ms Elden said the Fusion Superplex had effectively been closed for a year as its business started to be impacted before the end-March 2020 lockdown.

“People were reluctant to come out,” she explained. “We did notice a dip in the movie attendance rate, and they’re the biggest revenue generator. We’ve not been given approval to re-open. What do we do? We have received numerous contacts from customers on social media asking when we’re going to open, saying the closure makes no sense and quoting the Michael Jackson song line They don’t really care about us.

“I’m heartbroken sitting here. We’re doing the best we can in the circumstances. We’re on generator power at the moment but there’s only so much we can do to sustain that. We have events planned all weekend [at Edge].

“Mr Foulkes and our chief financial officer were going to be speaking to BPL. What is really going on here? We need some answers. We need answers about our claim, and we need answers about the disconnection,” Ms Elden continued.

“We have tried our very best not to lay-off staff. We’ve come out of meetings discussing how we do not want to lay-off staff. That has been Mr Foulkes position, the executive team, the owners. We do not want to lay-off staff.

“We’ve been closed almost a year. I don’t know what our next move will be. I am sitting here with a heavy heart because we already know the challenges families are faced with having been impacted by our closure. There are breadwinners that work for us who have been unable to provide for their families.”

The Fusion Superplex was forced to place between 350 and 400 staff on furlough when the pandemic hit, and Ms Elden voiced particular concern for the “skeleton staff” of less than 100 who had been recalled to Edge as a result of the BPL disconnection.

She added that the company had already missed “several movie blockbusters” that would have enabled it to catch up on some of the revenue lost over the past year due to the wait for the Prime Minister’s Office to give the go-ahead for full re-opening.