By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

A TOP executive of PowerSecure, the American firm contracted to manage the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, said there could “potentially be a reduction” in workforce in the coming months as officials seek to reorganise staff under the operations of the new Bahamas Power & Light Company Ltd (BPL).

However, Ronnie Brannen, PowerSecure’s president of utility infrastructure, stressed that should this happen, management would look at offering voluntary packages to employees with long tenures at the corporation.

Prime Minister Perry Christie further moved to allay concerns that the government’s decision to choose PowerSecure to manage BPL was handled secretively, insisting that it “was an open and transparent selection process.”

He said at the end of the day, no one could fault the bidding and selection process, adding that his administration was confident that it selected the right company, which matches the long-term energy policy of the government.

Mr Christie joked that “my bill is still too high”, saying it was why he was motivated to have the changes come into force.

The comments came as PowerSecure officially signed a five-year management services agreement for BPL.

Mr Brannen did not say what percentage in staff reduction PowerSecure was possibly considering and could not say what reduction in consumer electricity costs was expected.

When asked to reveal the cost of improvements over the next five years, he said it was too early in the process to reveal numbers.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis also insisted that the utility provider still remains in the hands of the Bahamian people.

“We looked at the staffing levels (and) we looked at the disciplines of the people who had the positions. What we found was truly amazing,” he said at the Office of the Prime Minister in response to questions from The Tribune.

“To answer your question will there be reorganisation of staff? I think so. It would be in the best interest to do that, to go in and evaluate and look at the strengths that people have and make sure that they are aligned strategically in those positions. I think another question you may have asked was on the organisational construct, of course. We’ll look at that and we want to be able to maximise all those talents that we have discovered and to make sure that we have the right people in the right places.”

He continued: “Well what we are doing there is remaining extremely open minded. So at this part of the business plan what we are looking at is there potentially could be a reduction in force.

“But if there is and I say that strongly, if there is, we would look at a voluntary type programme where people who have worked here and have long tenures would be offered an opportunity to volunteer if that is the case, but it’s very preliminary and we don’t know that yet.”

Mr Brannen said PowerSecure teams have discovered challenges at BEC including aging infrastructure, higher operating costs, expensive and inefficient fuel, organisational inefficiencies, geographical challenges that are very unique to this country and legacy debt.

Mr Christie said he was especially pleased to have this “historic” signing that would allow for lowered electricity costs for consumers, among other things. He said the move would also ensure that the government is not in the future tied to BEC’s $500m legacy debt.

He said: “I am happy that it has happened under my administration particularly because of the promises we made when we came to office. It is for me to observe that whether here in New Providence or in Grand Bahama, one of the most intimidating obstacles in the face of business development was the high cost of electricity. So this is particularly significant to the economy of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“It is hopeful that the signing will reduce the cost of electricity for consumers in a significant way and increase the reliability for the supply across The Bahamas.”

“With the signing of this agreement today we would have achieved a major milestone with a specific plan of action to reach our goals and enhance our economy as you have heard. The choice of PowerSecure was an open and transparent selection process. No one can fault the bidding and selection process at the end of the day and we are confident that we have selected the right company that matches the long term energy policy of the government and BEC,” Mr Christie added.

The prime minister said the Bahamian consumer and the business community will benefit significantly not just from price reduction but from reliability in supply.

Last November, President of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union Paul Maynard said that layoffs at BEC were “likely” and “to be expected” when the new management company takes over, however he said it will not be in the “hundreds” as was being speculated.

Mr Maynard was at the time responding to claims by Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis who said he understood that 400 to 500 persons would be laid off during BEC’s restructuring.

However, Mr Davis told reporters last year that no decision had been made yet on layoffs and that if there were any redundancies, they would be minimal.