By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Electricity Corporation will not disconnect any residential customers who are in arrears over the next two weeks, BEC Chairman Leslie Miller said yesterday.

This temporary amnesty will begin on Monday September 16 and end on Monday September 30.

While BEC will not be conducting disconnections of residential accounts during this period customers should know that bills with overdue balances, as of October 1, 2013, may be at risk of disconnection.

At a press conference at BEC’s headquarters, Mr Miller said the latest incentive in just another of several that were introduced to help those burdened by high electricity bills.

“What this means is that for the next two weeks, residential customers who are already burdened with high electricity bills will get some reprieve.

“However, we use this opportunity to appeal to these customers to come into one of our locations, whether in New Providence or the Family Islands, and make arrangements to ensure that after this reprieve ends, you are still able to enjoy uninterrupted supply of electricity.

“This government and this Board of Directors is strongly committed to the Bahamian people and we must ensure that we look out for those challenged by the economic climate we find ourselves in,” he said.

“This especially goes out to those parents burdened by the recent start of the school year. School fees, purchasing uniforms, books and other material along with providing daily lunch for their children have no doubt put an even greater strain on their already limited resources.”

Mr Miller said the corporation will also continue offering affordable payments arrangements to costumers who found themselves challenged with keeping up to date with their electricity bills.

He said: “This has been a tremendous help and therefore something the corporation will continue over the next two months. To explain, any customer who pays their entire overdue balance in the month of September and October will receive a 10 per cent discount on that portion of the bill more than 60 days overdue.

“Additionally, we will also give a 2 per cent discount to those costumers with outstanding balance who pay their bill on time and in full.”

Mr Miller also said that he was mandated by the Minister responsible for BEC, Phillip Brave Davis, to turn on the electricity of the 5,000 homes that are still without it.

“The Minister  told me under no uncertain terms ‘ I want those people lights on, find the mechanism to turn on every Bahamian’. No Bahamian should go to bed with their light off because it affects their daily lives and their standard of living. We have a mandate that every light will be turned on,” he said.

“We are begging customers please come and let us work with you, we are willing to work with you on a plan you can afford. We realize that these are tough difficult times but let us work together. It is painful that our brothers and sisters, at least 15,000 are without electricity. To this end we are urging customers in New Providence and the Family Islands to visit any of our offices so that we can work out a payment plan for you where you can pay an overdue balance and have your supply restored.”

Mr Miller also said customers will begin to see a reduction on their electricity bill in October.

In addition, to cost reduction, he said the company has also improved on reliability.

“As promised, the summer blackouts and load shedding experienced in years past were not experienced this summer and residents for the most past enjoyed an uninterrupted supply of electricity.

“If you remember last year the corporation was asking it major residential customers to use their generators, this year we have asked no one to do this, in fact we had more of the supply that was necessary to enable us to generate electricity to all Bahamians.”