1,400 customers currently disconnected
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Power and Light CEO Shevonn Cambridge yesterday said just over half of the electricity provider’s customers fall into the lower price increase category as he maintained the average household will “barely feel any difference” in their monthly bills due to the incremental rise in fuel charge.
Cambridge said out of about 102,000 customers, some 56,000 customers consume less than 800kWh per month.
“That’s including businesses and everybody, everybody in the entire Bahamas […] so they are the ones who are going to spend two cents more on the fuel charge,” he said.
“The fuel charge doesn’t discriminate on what class of customer you are, if it’s 800kw and below you are at the two-cent range, once you go above 800 (kWh) you pay 4.3 more cents.
“For all of it you only pay 4.3 cents for the amount above 800, so it’s very little other than the hotels and stuff who go way above 800. It’s 16 dollars more per month if you use 800kw/h.”
In a statement, BPL said the increases will take effect: October 1 to November 30, 2022; December 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023; March 1 to May 31, 2023; June 1 to August 31, 2023.
The price p/kWh is then slated to decrease at the same rate in two phases: September 1 to November 30, 2023; and December 1, 2023 to February 28, 2024.
Yesterday, Cambridge said some 1,400 customers are currently disconnected.
Addressing public outcry about additional fuel costs, Cambridge said that the state of the global economy, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and people’s lifestyle changes in recent years has made the rise inevitable.
Cambridge told Eyewitness News that the last time BPL had an increase in its base rate was in July 2010.
“It was 12 years ago, you name me one product or service that has not gone up in the last 12 years […]
“It’s changed. There’s more a/c loading there’s more this light and that light and the next and we charge phones. We’re doing so much more.”
Cambridge underscored the increase is minimal and that the majority of customers or the average household will barely feel any difference in the amount they will be paying.
“Out of 102,000, we have 56,000 consumers who consume less than 800kw per month;
Cambridge said the lifeline amount, which would be the price a customer pays to run the refrigerator and the lights, is around 600kw/h. He said that adds up to 12 more dollars a month, or 50 cents per day.
He added that in the current situation, where the country is coming out of the summer months when typically more energy is used, it will alleviate the system; and people using less power will see the reduction reflected in their bills.
“After the government has put in place this graduated plan and they put this plan in place at the end of the peak season the cool is coming now the load drops so peoples consumption tends to drop, so your consumption is going to go down which will automatically bring your bill down a bit,” he said.
“And they’re adjusting you up by two cents so for the vast majority of people the difference in their bill is going to be negligible […] and then with increases that then will give you some time to modify your behavior, you know buy some LED’s or get used to it to adjust budgetarily,” he said.
Loading ...
