Dear Editor,
What on Earth is going on with the Bahamas Electricity Corporation? Its executive chairman Leslie Miller said, just a few months ago, that they didn't anticipate any outages this summer, which would have probably been a first in Bahamian history.
As it turns out, though, things are actually worse than in any year I can remember. Every excuse has been given, from lightning strikes to mysterious spontaneous shutdowns. Now, with the latest island-wide meltdown over the weekend, they seem to have given up even on the excuses, saying they will launch an investigation as to what happened and report back to the public later.
The opposition jumped into the mix, with Free National Movement Chairman Darron Cash calling BEC under the current administration a "disgrace". But the truth is, although this may be a bad year, power generation and supply in this country has left much to be desired as far back as anyone can remember.
Why is it so difficult to get it right? I can understand the argument that we are an archipelagic nation, a chain of islands, and supplying so many different centers of population separated by water is a tricky proposition.
Fine, but why can't they keep the lights on just in New Providence? All around the world, in many countries less developed than The Bahamas, they manage to keep the lights on. Rather than blaming each other, I wish for once that politicians would just level with the Bahamian people and tell us what the problem really is.
Is it because they have repeatedly staffed BEC with unqualified supporters as a reward for their support, to the point where most people who work there don't really know what they are doing most of the time? Is it that repeated disputes between successive governments and the unions that represent BEC have disillusioned the workers and left them apathetic and less than diligent at their jobs?
Or does it have nothing at all to do with the workers, being instead a matter of bad choices by those at the top in terms of equipment and strategy? Has the price of fuel become so expensive that it eats up most of BEC's budget, to the point that vital repairs and upgrades cannot be undertaken?
And if the problem is any of the above, why do we not simply do what people all around the developed world are doing - take a significant portion of the responsibility for power generation away from the BEC workers AND the politically-appointed heads of the corporation, allowing residents to use alternative means to create their own electricity, and even sell some of it back to the grid?
Please, would someone, anyone, who was elected to represent the public answer all, some or even any of these most vexing questions?
- F. Rolle
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