By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday he was “unaware” of reported plans to let go an estimated 200 employees from the Bahamas Electricity Corporation after the government owned entity is taken over by new management.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Davis said while discussions between the government commissioned task force and American company PowerSecure are well advanced, potential lay offs have not been discussed.

Last week, a well-placed source who did not want to be named told The Tribune that an estimated 200 of BEC’s 1,200 employees might be let go in an effort to streamline the corporation.

Mr Davis’ comments also followed those of Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) President Paul Maynard who last week said Prime Minister Perry Christie assured both him and Bahamas Electrical Utilities Managerial Union (BEUMU) President Clinton Minnis that there would be “minimal lay offs” at BEC as a result of new management.

At the time Mr Maynard told The Tribune that he and Mr Minnis met with the prime minister late last Wednesday to discuss possible layoffs at BEC after PowerSecure takes over.

He said he was “relieved” to discover that Mr Christie had the same concerns about job security and was willing to work with union leaders to “save as many jobs as possible”.

Yesterday Mr Davis, who is also minister of works with responsibility for BEC, said it would be premature to speculate about mass lay offs.

“I don’t know anything about (lay offs),” Mr Davis said. “The discussions between the task force and the new management company are still ongoing. It would be premature to speculate something like at this point because the task force and the management company are still in talks. These discussions are well advanced in terms of the direction the restructuring should take.

“But as far as I am advised, there have been no discussions in that regard.”

Last week, Mr Maynard told The Tribune that while he has been advised that most jobs will be protected at BEC, some people would ultimately be let go.

“The meeting went very well and he (Mr Christie) assured us that there will not be massive layoffs at the corporation,” the union leader said. “We will have a larger scale meeting next week to finalise all the details.

“He also has a problem with the possibility of job loss. He doesn’t want that to happen, he doesn’t want what happened at BTC to happen at BEC. Do not get me wrong, people will have to be let go, but it will not be on the large scale that was expected.”

It was announced last month that PowerSecure International was selected as the new management company of BEC, nearly two years after the government announced plans to restructure the cash-strapped electricity provider.

In a statement, it was revealed that PowerSecure received a five-year contract to oversee generation and transmission/distribution at BEC.

The new management company is expected to lower electricity costs, increase energy security and reliability, and increase competitiveness as a country.

BEC will be restructured similarly to the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) model, with the government retaining 100 per cent ownership and PowerSecure acting as the manager.