NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Philip Davis has contradicted the CEO of Bahamas Power & Light, suggesting there will be no BPL fuel charge hike in the foreseeable future.
BPL’s new CEO Shevonn Cambridge recently told a local daily the company will increase its fuel charge in the next month or two.
Davis, however, said the government’s approach to allowing an increase in BPL fuel charges mirrors its stance on allowing the National Insurance Board (NIB) contribution rate to increase.
He was speaking to the press at the Lynden Pindling International Airport after returning from Rwanda where the latest Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting was held.
“Any future or further burden on the Bahamian people has to be looked [at] in the context of the previous answer that I gave in respect to national insurance,” Davis said.
While actuaries insist The Bahamas must raise NIB contribution rates to protect the fund, Davis reiterated yesterday that his administration has no plan to follow that recommendation because it would be too burdensome for Bahamians.
This same principle, he suggested, applies to increasing BPL charges and fees.
He said the government is looking for other ways to reduce fuel costs, a matter that was discussed extensively during his recent international trips.
“For example,” he said, “the voices of (Small Island Development States) were being heard about the sanctions being placed on Venezuela and we’re now seeing movements to relieve the sanctions so that the Venezuela oil and other related products could now be exported from Venezuela.
“So our voices are being heard in respect to that.
“Trinidad, for example, they have a reserve of gas, which was being stagnated because of the relationship they have with Venezuela.
“We have made strong representations with the US to lift the sanctions in respect to that and we hope to see that move very soon.
“So, if our efforts to remove the other pressures that feed into increasing the cost of fuel, if those are released as we expect them to, then there may not be a need for us to consider raising any further bills on the backs of Bahamians.
“But these are some of the things that we do when we travel.
“So, from the Summit of Americas, you would have noted since then, the Americans have allowed Venezuela to export to European Union.
“So, the next step now is to deal with our situation here in the Caribbean and we just have to follow through on that.
“We have to deal with that this weekend in Suriname.
“That’s high on the agenda, energy security…Once the valve is released for Venezuela to provide fuel, we’ll see a very significant downward trend on the cost of fuel. “
The Davis administration also nixed BPL’s plans announced in February to raise fuel costs.
At the time, the company said it would increase the fuel charge from 10.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 13.7 cents per kWh.
The prime minister, meanwhile, said his government is still working to solve the problem of soaring gas prices.
“[We are] still working out what else can be done recognizing that most of the cost related to fuel is not within our control,” he said.
“What is in our control and what I’ve been doing is letting our voice be heard about some of the initiatives and policies in the industrialized world that is causing the increase in oil.
“Quite apart from the invasion in Ukraine, there are also other issues, like the sanctions on Venezuela that has impacted the cost of fuel, particularly for us.
“If those sanctions are lifted, it helps and so we have been agitating.”
