NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Opposition Leader Michael Pintard called on the government to provide the details on its plans for Bahamas Power & Light (BPL), accusing the Davis administration of "making a mess" of the energy sector.
During a press conference at FNM headquarters yesterday, Pintard stated that while the challenges at BPL have spanned multiple administrations, the Progressive Liberal Party should shoulder the lion's share of the blame regarding the dysfunction at the power company.
"We are categorically against what the government is doing. We don't know entirely what they are doing behind the scenes," Pintard said.
"Were it not for one of the actors reaching out, you would still have in the rumor mill many versions of the story about what is happening. Any future of BPL must be preceded by a request for proposal that carefully outlines what the government is seeking to accomplish. If there is a reconfiguration of ownership, Bahamians have to be allowed to be owners of their own utilities. If Bahamians want a strategic alliance with another utility that's permissible, that's not uncommon."
Pintard argued that while it is unclear what the Davis administration is doing with regard to BPL, it appears that the administration is privatizing BPL without a candid conversation with all stakeholders.
Pintard said the FNM understands that the responsibility for power generation at BPL has been awarded to a company headed by an "ardent PLP supporter."
Chairman of FOCOL Sir Franklyn Wilson last week shot down rumors that his company, or some new subsidiary of his consortium of companies, is set to take over assets of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), as categorically untrue.
"How did the government arrive at whatever conclusion they arrived at in the dark?" questioned Pintard.
He also noted that the government has tripled the number of rental generation units at BPL. "
We are paying an inordinate amount of money for rental generation. When they came to power, we had enough generation capacity to handle the peak generation demand," said Pintard.
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