A reminder of why energy sector reform is so vital

Tue, Aug 26th 2014, 12:03 AM

For the last two months, there have been blackouts and load shedding on New Providence. The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) has said the cause was either lightning strikes or faults with equipment.
The problem has been vexing for individuals and businesses. Companies without generators have had their operations paused until the power was restored. Homeowners have had to sweat it out for hours at a time. The residents of New Providence are frustrated.
Yesterday, BEC Executive Chairman Leslie Miller said the corporation has fixed one of its latest damaged generators that caused a blackout. However, he would not guarantee that similar outages would not happen again.
"Things happen. All you can do is apologize," Miller said outside the House of Assembly.
"Hopefully, moving forward, these things will not reoccur. I can't give [a] guarantee because engines go down from time to time. Hopefully, we will be safe for the rest of the summer."
Miller has moved away from the springtime promise of reliable supply this summer. He has even come to the pragmatic point of stating that they can't guarantee the lights will stay on.
BEC is the monopoly power provider on New Providence and for much of The Bahamas. It is bankrupt and unable to meet peak demand. Years of political mismanagement have brought the corporation to its knees.
The high cost of electricity has made it difficult for individuals and businesses to pay the corporation. We have heard that there are around 5,000 residential consumers without electricity. Recently, Miller, whose family business, too, has been unable to pay all it owes, said there are approximately 20,000 residential consumers whose bills are $5,000 or more.
"This is a very, very serious problem. Our accounts receivable is in excess of $130 million. About 75 percent of that is owed by homeowners," he said.
The government is in the process of considering proposals for reforming the local energy sector. No final decision has been made on the way forward, however.
This summer of discontent when it comes to the problems at BEC should be a reminder to the government of the urgency of proper energy reform. The Bahamas appears backward and a place not so desirable to invest in if it continues to have an unreliable power supply.
Businessman Franklyn Wilson has said that the current situation with BEC is "depressing" and harmful of "the human spirit". He is right, and thousands of Bahamians agree with him. We hope the problems of this summer help to accelerate the government's reform effort. The current state of affairs when it comes to power generation is near maddening.

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