The Christie administration remains cagey about the restructuring of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), but Minister of State for Investments Khaalis Rolle has admitted the possibility the government could borrow approximately $200 million to build a new power plant next year, even though he said it was a "last option".
BEC Executive Chairman Leslie Miller pegged the cost of the new 128-megawatt plant he recommends at $200 million, but could not say where the government would get the money to build it. Miller also made it clear he had no information on whether the government intends to borrow the money or even build a new plant at all.
Guardian Business asked Rolle whether the government is planning to borrow the money to pay for a new plant and, if so, would it do so in the next fiscal year.
"We have looked at every possible scenario. What we are trying to do is a very complex issue," he said. "We are trying to solve decades of underinvestment [in BEC], decades of poor investment decisions and decades of poor management of our energy supply sector. You're not going to easily unravel what has been done over decades, and that's why the process is taking a little bit longer than anticipated.
"We want to make sure that whatever decision is made meets the objective of reducing the cost of energy. You don't want to make a very quick decision, invest in a new plant and overinvest, and you still don't get the results that you are looking for. It's a complex issue."
Pressed to say whether borrowing the money for a new plant was on the agenda, Rolle said: "We can't say that as yet. That is the last option on the table for us."
He said the government's inability to finance this kind of development is what is behind the push toward public-private partnerships (PPPs).
"We have an infinite amount of needs in public infrastructure, but finite resources available to meet those needs. So it's a balancing act. You have to determine, given the fiscal constraints, what decisions can legitimately be made to the net benefit of the economy and to the fiscal realities that the government currently faces."
The government issued a request for proposals (RFP) last year, originally intending to separate BEC's power generation duties from its distribution duties. Subsequent statements from Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, who has Cabinet responsibility for BEC, hinted that the government was down to a shortlist of "two or three" bidders, but was possibly reconsidering that path.
Rolle told Guardian Business on Wednesday that the administration is "reviewing what the options are and who the potential players [might be]".
"I can't say [who the bidders are, or even how many]. It's still a discussion taking place at the Cabinet level, and I don't want to preempt any decision or influence adversely any decision that is going to be made by speaking about the details publicly," he said.
Guardian Business pressed the minister for a timeline for completing the RFP process.
"As quickly as possible," he said. "Let's just say it is urgent and we are urgently looking at a resolution to the high cost of energy."

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