The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama businesses yesterday gave a mixed verdict over Grand Bahama Power Company's (GBPC) move to recover $15.6m in Dorian restoration costs via an extra charge to their bills.

Some said they understood why the electricity monopoly needed to recoup the costs associated with restoring its uninsured transmission and distribution infrastructure in the Category Five storm's wake, while others slammed the extra burden they fear this will impose as they seek to recover from both Dorian and COVID-19;

Kenneth Knowles, part-owner of Grand Bahama Industrial Supplies & Gases, told Tribune Business he had “mixed feelings” over GB Power's implementation of the Storm Recovery and Stabilisation charge with effect from January 1, 2021.

While acknowledging the impact on business and residential consumers, he added that he “understands” why it needs to cover the restoration costs.

“I have mixed feelings because I can understand both sides of the aisle on this issue," Mr Knowles said. "The Power Company has the capacity to generate power for a couple hundred thousand customers, but then they have a customer base of no less than 16,000.

"So they are trying to spread that cost amongst 16,000 customers, when you have the capacity for 200,000. It puts them in a tough spot.” While he has not yet seen his electricity bill for 2021 to-date, Mr Knowles said he “does not have a major issue with this”, agreeing that the electrical utility has to pass costs on to consumers.

However, he warned: “If they weren't insured, then I would have a problem with that, because then that would mean they are collecting monies and not insuring the assets against such situations.”

GB Power and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), as its regulator, have consistently argued that the new charge, which will be a separate line item in customer bills, will 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 blow and any consumer push back/fall-out.

The charge for the three customer categories was initially set at:

• 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 utility also said the monthly amount paid by customers will depend on consumption, adding that the Storm Recovery and Stabilisation charge was standard global electricity practice for recovering costs associated with post-hurricane restoration.

GB Power asserted that it represents the fairest and most transparent way to finance the rebuilding of transmission and distribution infrastructure that was devastated by Dorian, and for which it is unable to obtain insurance for. And GB Power’s customers will themselves be the ones who benefit from the restoration of electricity service and a more robust network.

Pointing out that no insurer will cover transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure in a hurricane belt, it added that a separate line item on bills was the best way to finance the restoration recovery as this would prevent the utility from earning a profit on the recovery fee in non-storm years.

But James Rolle, the Dolly Madison Home Centre's general manager, took a harder tone. He said: “Any added expense, or any added cost to the expense of any businesses or even individuals, it becomes more burdensome to the individual or the company.

"My personal experience with Grand Bahama Power is that there has always been a fluctuation in my charges anyway, because if my light bill is high one month, I make an adjustment and it goes down the next month. But from a business perspective right now, Grand Bahama really has gone through too much.”

He added: "When you're setting up any kind of business or expanding, you have to do your research. You have to think about the capacity, first of all, and take care of those businesses.”

"Also you also have to think of the capacity of the business, and how are the business themselves that you are taxing. How are they making up for the losses that they've had, because it's not only the Power Company that lost because of Dorian. The businesses have lost, too.

“So, I mean, it's unfair. They could come up with some other ways of recouping the losses. It may take a longer time to recover, but you can just expect to get it all back right away.”