By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Electricity Corporation Executive Chairman Leslie Miller said the government has not consulted or included him and members of BEC’s board on its transition team that is preparing the corporation for new management with the American company PowerSecure.

Mr Miller said BEC’s union and management teams have been privy to discussions about the corporation’s future and have told him that the Christie administration intends to form a new board for the corporation.

He could not confirm this for himself, he said, adding that he is still the chairman of BEC and will remain so until he is officially removed from his position.

“I trust they would notify us before or if they pick a new board,” he said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished while we were here. I think we were able to educate Bahamians that the corporation is for Bahamian people and is not owned by the union. The greatest thing I think we did was to stop the double dipping in the entire public service.”

Pressed for details about his future and that of the board, he said: “It’s not my call. Whenever the prime minister sees fit to dissolve the board and put in a new one, then our time will be up, but we have not been (given) official notice that our time is up. They appointed us by giving us letters and I would expect that if they no longer require our service they would similarly inform us and have the courtesy to notify us before going public with the information. I can’t hurt my head over things I have no power over. I have zero influence and zero power. This board probably did more than any other in the history of BEC. For instance, some bad things were going on with overtime and we changed it.”

Mr Miller said if he were removed as executive chairman of BEC, he would be disappointed about not being able to help poor people who often call him for help.

“My biggest regret is that the poor people, the hundreds who call every week to keep their lights on, may then have no one to turn to,” he said. “That’s my biggest regret. That would personally make me feel bad about the whole situation, because I could no longer work on their behalf.”

Mr Miller also spoke about the power cuts that took place Saturday around the island.

“We had problems with (engines) at Clifton,” he said. “We still have some problems at Blue Hills that we haven’t resolved yet. There may be intermittent problems (in terms of power cuts) down the line but hopefully we will solve them this week.”

During his tenure as chairman, Mr Miller has been involved in a series of controversial incidents, including public spats with BEC’s union leaders, and the revelation that he and his family owned business owed BEC more than $100,000.

Union leaders have repeatedly called for him to be fired.