October 1 will be “a historic red letter day for all Bahamians” as it will mark the first time in the history of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation that the cost of electricity will be reduced to all of BEC’s customers in New Providence, Paradise Island and the Family Islands, according to Minister of Works and Utilities Bradely Roberts.
“This is a super classic example of the new Progressive Liberal Party headed by the Honourable Perry G. Christie delivering on its campaign promise and confirms the government’s ability to deliver hope and help to all the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” said Minister Roberts, who was the last Cabinet Minister to speak before Prime Minister Perry Christie wrapped up debate on the 2003-2004 budget in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Minister Roberts said this reduction will bring much needed relief to the pockets of ordinary Bahamians and business houses, in particular hotels, whose owners have been crying out for relief.
The Works and Utilities Minister said the corporation is involved in a number of initiatives to ensure that the electrical infrastructure in New Providence, Paradise Island as well as in the Family Islands continues to keep pace with the ever increasing demand for electricity.
The initiatives are intended to ensure that the quality of supplies and customer service continue to improve and be maintained at world-class standards.
“To this end, the corporation recently embarked on a ‘High Performance Workplace’ initiative, which will transform the culture of the organization,” Minister Roberts said. “The major emphasis is being placed on the continued improvement of productivity and customer services.”
Minister Roberts said that over the years, BEC has suffered financial losses for a number of reasons.
He said that after prudent and judicious evaluation, and the application of simple business judgment, it was determined that BEC was taken advantage of by agreeing to very low storage fees during the past ten years.
“The simple fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, that the new storage fee to be paid by the fuel supplier to BEC has been increased to $1.4 million per annum,” he said. “This mans, Mr. Speaker, that over the past 10 years BEC has earned $600,000 for storage fees when it should have earned $14 million, a give away of $13.4 million over the past 10 years.”
He said the other part of the dilemma is that BEC has been paying $2 to $3 per barrel more for its fuel than Freeport Power and Light. Minister Roberts said BEC purchases considerably more than Freeport Power and Light paid for its fuel.
Minister Roberts said that it is the sum total of all of these deficiencies and bad management that has made it impossible for BEC under the previous administration to pass on any reduction in the cost of electricity to the general public.
He also told the House that in New Providence, a 30-megawatt slow speed diesel engine project, D/A12, at Clifton Pier is in the final stages of completion. The reliability run began last Tuesday and will last for 30 days from that date, he said.
The commissioning of the $40 million engine was originally scheduled for August 31, 2002, making the project eleven months behind schedule.
Minister Roberts said the delay in the commissioning of the diesel engine has significantly impacted the cost of fuel for BEC.
Because the engine is behind schedule, he said this has resulted in additional fuel cost to the Bahamian tax payers of $15,602,000.
“Mr. Speaker, I invite members opposite in this House and the detractors of this government to consider the millions of dollars spent on bleachers for the Boxing Day and New Years Day Junkanoo parades versus the loss of $15,602,000.
By Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
