When Sarah MacDonald, CEO of the Grand Bahama Power Co., arrived in Freeport with her family seven weeks ago, she knew she had a lot to do.
What the former Emera Inc. vice-president didn’t know was that she and her company would become a lightning rod for discontent in the beleaguered Caribbean island.
That may be a bit of an understatement. Power use is always highest on Grand Bahama Island during July and August when temperatures hit the high 30s and consumers run their air conditioners all day. But this summer, power rates are sharply higher.
That, coupled with an impending national election and a recession-racked economy, has made the cost of power THE issue on the island. And, rightly or wrongly, it has made Nova Scotia company Emera, which owns the Grand Bahama Power Co., a byword for corporate greed.
Island consumers pay 38 cents a kilowatt hour, roughly three times what Nova Scotians pay, and MacDonald said 60 per cent of that cost is due to a fuel surcharge. The company passes the cost of the oil it uses to produce electricity directly on to its customers.
Though world oil prices have been falling, she said it takes a few months for the reduction to be passed on to customers.
