BEC reconnections to eclipse 1,000 homes

Thu, Feb 16th 2012, 09:32 AM

The electricity assistance initiative should easily eclipse 1,000 applications as Bahamians struggling to pay their bills claw out of the dark.
As of Wednesday evening, 537 individuals had made payment arrangements to get back on the grid, according to Arnette Ingraham, head of corporate communications at Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC). These customers agreed to pay the last full monthly bill, typically for a 30-day period, and then pay off their debt over a three-year period.  "So if you have a $3,000 debt, you can spread it out over 36 months," she said.
Some Bahamians, Ingraham noted, opted for less than the year-end period.
"We're averaging 170 reconnections per day," she told Guardian Business. "Yesterday we connected 170. Our total reconnections should be more than 500 and I would say it's likely we'll surpass 1,000."
Ingraham said applications continue to trickle in as awareness grows for the program.
"At this point it is going very well. I would say in the next couple of days we expect many more applications," she added.
The BEC executive felt the program has been successful for all parties involved. While Bahamians have the opportunity to get the lights back on, BEC is receiving payments from those "who weren't making payments at all".
She told Guardian Business the vast majority of applications have come from residents in New Providence, although interest has also come from the Family Islands.
Last Thursday, during the opening of the Free National Movement's (FNM) Elizabeth constituency office on Yamacraw Hill Road, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the government will offer assistance to families struggling to pay for electricity.
It marks the third time the government has put in a special program to address delinquent customers.
"We not only had customers signing up at [our head office] on Friday but at our Mall at Marathon outlet," said Michael Moss, the CEO of BEC.

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