BAHAMAS Power and Light customers will see a $20 to $30 increase in their monthly electricity bills for 10 months starting in 2020, according to Minister of Works Desmond Bannister. While debating the Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Act in the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr Bannister said that the issuance of the bonds will be used to refinance BPL’s $321m debt to pay for phase two of the new Wartsila power plant and manage other liabilities. “We expect that the issuance of the rate reduction bonds will lead to a temporary increase in the average household billing of an average of $20 to $30 monthly for about 10 months in 2020,” he told Parliament. “The good news is that this will be a short-term increase that will be wiped out in 2021 when the cost of generation will decrease drastically due to the completed installation of the second station consisting of even more new fuel efficient engines, better operation performance, and lower fuel costs brought on by the utilisation of Shell’s internationally respected hedging expertise.”

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