By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power and Light CEO Shevonn Cambridge has revealed that slightly more than 1,400 consumers have been disconnected from the power grid.

He explained to The Tribune that while the system does not allow officials to determine the reason for disconnection, he would imagine that the majority are shut off from service due to non-payment.

“When they checked the system, it showed that out of the - I think it’s like 100,000 — we used to have 120 (thousand) and then after the storms in Abaco and the lights dropped — so they tell me it is about 102,000 or thereabouts.

“And so, out of the 100,000 plus, they only had 1,400 people who were disconnected yesterday when they checked,” he said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis announced that BPL will be increasing its monthly fuel charge in response to rising fuel costs, with the rate increase set to be reflected in consumers’ electricity bills beginning November.

However, he gave an assurance that the bill increases will only be temporary and are expected to come down over the next 12 to 18 months.

Asked if he fears more customers will be unable to pay their bills due to the increase, Mr Cambridge said: “Not really, because like I said the increases for most people, it’s less than $20 a month. I mean, it’s literally two cents or thereabout, so if you’re under 800 kilowatt hours per kilowatt an hour and the majority of people around that 800 or less kilowatt hour.”

The announcement has ignited outrage by the public as they complain of battling with inflation. However, Mr Cambridge pointed to the efforts the company has made to ensure customers are not too heavily burdened.

“We’re making it at a rate that we think the public could absorb or digest. So to speak, soften the blow,” he said.

Public Works Minister Alfred Sears had previously said BPL is on the precipice of financial fallout if it does not act immediately to align the fuel charge with current global prices, ensure reliable sources of clean, reliable and sustainable energy and move to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels as promised by the Davis administration’s Blueprint for Change.