Group launches petition to lower power bills
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A power company has made application to the government to create solar power plants that will reduce Grand Bahama’s electricity bills by 33-43 per cent, Pastor Eddie Victor, a member of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCC) claimed on Friday.
“We shared with the public information concerning a power company, Northern Bahamas Utilities, that has made application to the government to build firm solar power plants in West and East Grand Bahama, bringing down the total cost of electricity by 33 to 43 per cent,” Victor claimed.
“This company is 100 per cent Bahamian owned [and] the principals are qualified engineers who are all former employees of the Grand Bahama Power company.
“Also, the collective experience of the principals would amount to 106 years of experience in power generation.”
Victor revealed this much to the media during a press conference to give an update on the group’s petition for the government to intervene in the energy sector of Grand Bahama.
Victor said thus far, hundreds of residents have signed letters to support the call for government’s intervention on the issue.
“The first batch of letters [signed] is 301 letters and there are hundreds more coming in,” he said. “As we collect these letters we will then forward them to the Members of Parliament for Grand Bahama.
Meanwhile, Victor said years of hefty electricity bills have negatively impacted living on Grand Bahama, hence the need for the signatures.
He said that residents have been, “paying excessively high electricity rates in Grand Bahama for years [and] it has affected the cost of living and also resulted in hundreds of people that are living without power on the island.”
He added that the high cost of electricity has also affected Grand Bahama businesses.
“It has caused hardship on businesses to the point where many businesses have closed in Grand Bahama over the years because of the high cost of electricity,” he said.
Victor also stated that they have made a conscientious effort to properly educate residents on the issues so that they would not sign and agree blindly to the contents of the petition.
The CCC, he said, began conducting town meetings as a way to engage the public on the issue, and to share information regarding the future of Grand Bahama’s energy sector.
The majority of letters in the hands of the CCC presently are from the Western Grand Bahama area.
Victor said letters from the Eastern area are currently flowing in, but he did not indicate a specific time in which the CCC will stop accepting letters.
