Two of the "three hotels out west" that collectively owed the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) more than $30 million have made payment arrangements, according to Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis.
Last Tuesday, BEC Executive Chairman Leslie Miller threatened to disconnect the hotels if they did not settle their accounts by the end of the week.
When asked if Baha Mar is among those with delinquent accounts, Miller said, "All of them. All of the hotels out west".
Davis, who has ministerial responsibility for BEC, said while the matter is being

addressed, the arrears are

of "continuing concern", given BEC's financial position.
"We have reached out to all of these hotels and let them understand the situation," Davis said in a recent interview.
"Most of them have now made arrangements, which they are living up to.
"And there is one that we still have to sit down [with] and deal with."
He did not name the hotels or whether the hotel that had yet to come to terms could be disconnected.
In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Miller said BEC is struggling with a fuel bill that exceeds $100 million.
He said unless the corporation pays off a $55 million fuel bill by the end of the month, the entire country would be without electricity.
Davis was asked why the hotels were allowed to amass such high electricity bills, given the corporation's "hemorrhaging" state.
He noted that the hotels collectively employ hundreds of Bahamians.
He also suggested the Christie-administration inherited the problem from the former government.
"Well, you know, this did not just happen," Davis said.
"This has been an ongoing situation that has been met, and we are addressing it now.
"...Again, as I said, there has to be this cooperative effort between government and these entities to ensure a mutual arrangement that would save both sides."
On Wednesday, Miller said he received a call from two of the hotels.
He said representatives promised to pay $2 million on their bills that day.
But Davis declined to say how much the hotels paid last week.
Pressed on whether a significant portion had been paid, Davis said, "First of all, we don't want to cripple the industry.
"You have to recognize that we are talking about hotels that are a critical component to the lifeline of our economy - tourism," he said.
"We have to partner with these entities to ensure the survivability of our lifeline.
"And so, it behooves us to sit with them and arrive at an arrangement where they can still survive, keep the economy going, and at the same time save BEC from its cash crisis."
Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant said on Wednesday that he was saddened to learn that single women and widows' lights are being turned off for hundreds of dollars when the "billionaires of West Bay Street [are] allowed to accumulate bills at BEC in excess of $25 million".
"It's just not right," Grant said in the House.
As it relates to the corporation's $55 million fuel bill this month, Davis said the government will bail out BEC if it cannot meet its financial obligations.
"We will not see BEC from a government point of view, left in a position where it is unable to meet its financial commitments," he said.
"We will have to find an answer to all of it. And that is what we will do.
"If it takes subsidizing then we will have to do that."

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