Employees of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) were paid in excess of $1 million in Christmas bonuses, BEC Executive Chairman Leslie Miller said yesterday.
Miller said the bonuses were a little more than last year's as the workers' salaries have increased.
"I don't see how a company with a conscience for the Bahamian people that own BEC could make a decision to provide bonuses to a company that is losing money," he said when contacted for comment.
"BEC is going to lose about $22 million this year. I don't see how that's possible. I said that when we are making money we'd be happy to reconsider bonuses, but not until the company is self-sufficient and self-sustaining.
"I don't think the Bahamian people should carry the load of giving bonuses for a company that is in such terrible state and a company where certain members could take home $14,000 a month in overtime.
"It's criminal."
The Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) signed an industrial agreement with the government on December 10.
There will be no salary increases over the five-year contract, which is retroactive to May 2013 and expires on April 30, 2018.
But BEC's unionized employees received a lump sum payment.
Since his appointment to BEC in 2012, Miller has been critical of the amount of overtime and bonuses paid.
Last year, Miller sent a letter to BEC General Manager Kevin Basden indicating that a decision was made to defer the bonuses until the corporation was in a position to pay.
However, employees were eventually paid.
Miller also said that over 3,000 Bahamians are still without power.
Last year, the corporation introduced a program to reconnect customers whose electricity supplies were off.
No such program was offered this year.
"We have exhausted just about every program we've tried," Miller said yesterday.
"You have to realize, all the people that we went with, with the new initiative have already been on every program BEC had before. We just keep trying one thing or another just to keep them on.
"After a while you reach a point of diminishing returns and there is nothing else you can do for them. The people cannot afford the high cost of electricity."
Miller added that when value-added tax (VAT) is introduced in January many customers may not be able to afford the increased cost of electricity.
"VAT, as far as BEC is concerned, is a useless effort," he said. "If they are not able to pay their regular bill, and you tack on VAT, what's the problem there?"

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