By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) move to suspend its review of Grand Bahama Power Company’s base rate increase proposal was yesterday likened to “putting a band aid on an amputation”.

James Carey, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president, told Tribune Business that the announcement by Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority “may provide some solace” amid GB Power’s latest spate of daily outages and load shedding but failed to address what is causing the utility’s renewed poor service or provide a timeline for when the woes will be addressed.

And, pointing out that the GBPA is only suspending - not abandoning - its assessment of GB Power’s three-year tariff application until its service quality improves, he said the utility will likely still receive its proposed 6.3 percent base rate increase once the current challenges are resolved.

Mr Carey’s position was echoed by Pastor Eddie Victor, head of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCC) and a long-time GB Power critic, who said the latest round of daily load shedding on two-hour rotations had further strengthened the case for the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) to replace the GBPA as the utility’s regulator.

Challenging why the GBPA has not imposed financial penalties or other regulatory sanctions on GB Power for its poor performance and service, Pastor Victor laughed when informed about the tariff review suspension by this newspaper.

He also questioned why Freeport’s quasi-governmental regulator had not previously placed any review “on hold”, as is common in legal disputes, given that the battle over who is GB Power’s regulator - the GBPA or URCA - has now been before the Supreme Court for eight years with a decision yet to be rendered.

And Pastor Victor also accused GB Power of using the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, “against the people” by employing it as a defensive mechanism against regulation by URCA when both residents and businesses are desperately unhappy with it service quality.

Both men spoke out after the GBPA, in a statement, said its regulatory committee - the very same body that will be responsible for deciding whether to approve the rate application - had met with GB Power on Monday, September 30, to discuss its unreliable power supply and the negative consequences for Grand Bahama businesses and residents.

“During yesterday’s meeting with Grand Bahama Power, we stressed the critical importance of restoring reliable electricity service to Grand Bahama’s residents and businesses,” said Ian Rolle, the GBPA’s president.

“These interruptions in service take a tremendous toll on the island’s economy and our quality of life, and service reliability must be re-established as soon as possible. As such, we have directed GB Power to immediately develop and implement a plan to alleviate ongoing power disruptions.”

The GBPA then added that it had suspended consideration of GB Power’s new tariff structure, which would be implemented on January 1, 2025, if approved and remain in effect for three years, until its load shedding woes and power outages have been addressed.

“GBPA will suspend any review of the rate plan until GB Power demonstrates significant improvement in power reliability,” said Sarah St. George, GBPA’s regulatory chair. “GBPA remains committed to transparency and public participation in the rate process, and will re-open public consultation and encourage feedback from residents at an appropriate time.”

Dave McGregor, GB Power president and Caribbean chief operating officer for Emera, its 100 percent owner, did not respond to Tribune Business messages and calls seeking comment before press time. However, he told this newspaper on September 13, 2024, that he anticipated the utility’s generation capacity shortfall would be resolved the following week with the addition of further temporary rental units.

That has not happened, and GB Power yesterday confirmed that the latest disruption was due to “the unplanned loss” of its second-largest generating unit. It added that this coincided with units at its West Sunrise plant being taken offline for scheduled maintenance, thereby resulting in a generation shortfall where supply was unable to meet Grand Bahama’s demand.

Nikita Mullings, GB Power’s chief operating officer, said in a statement: “We know that our customers are understandably frustrated with interruptions in their electricity service and that they are tired of our apologies, however well meaning, for the service issues they have endured.

“We know these interruptions cause significant inconvenience to you, your families and your businesses. The reliability of our service is a top priority for the GB Power team, and we deeply regret that we have again fallen short.”

GB Power gave no timeline for when the generation challenges will be remedied, but said it now needs to obtain an additional 8 mega watts (MW) of generation capacity to add to the 16.4 MW already in place to cover the hole left by its second-largest generating unit which is undergoing repairs.

Mr Carey, who said the GBPA would not have announced the review suspension if GB Power had resolved its problems, said there was still enough time for this to happen - and for the three-year tariff structure to be approved - so that it can be implemented on New Year’s Day.

“The Port Authority has provided some solace for what’s happening,” the GB Chamber president told Tribune Business. “They’re saying they’re only delaying review of the proposal. It would be good if the Port Authority says in their engagement of the Power Company what the Power Company is doing to resolve their difficulties and when this is likely to take place.

“That’s all people want to know. To say they have deferred their review of the rate, it’s like putting a band aid on an amputation. That’s what it is. It’s not bringing satisfaction. From a Port Authority standpoint it’s good, and may bring some solace to some people, but it’s tremendously impactful.”

While many small businesses lack a generator and are plunged “into darkness” when the power goes off, larger companies are incurring higher fuel costs by running their generators more often. Mr Carey said customers are deserting businesses due to lack of air conditioning, and electronic payments not working, while some are having to pay staff for unproductive hours to keep them there until the light comes back on.

“It’s really very little. It only goes a little bit. It doesn’t bring any comfort,” Mr Carey said of the GBPA statement. “Given all the utterances about the rate increase, ultimately it’s going to be approved. There’s still three months left, and if they get their problems sorted out next week they’re still going to increase the rates.”

Pastor Victor, meanwhile, chuckled when informed of the GBPA’s suspension announcement. “Their public relations are down the hole; the Port Authority and the Power Company,” he said. “The Power Company definitely has no credibility. But because the GBPA is asserting its regulatory right, they’re not being looked at in a very good light by the public.

“If this went ahead they’d be looked at in a very bad light by the public. They put it on hold. I hope they scrap it. It needs to be scrapped. We have high electricity rates and we have unstable power. We are not getting the clean delivery of energy, and devices do not run the way they are supposed to. We in Grand Bahama should be known for having the lowest base electricity rates in The Bahamas.”

Pastor Victor said GB Power should be facing fines and other financial sanctions for poor service quality. And, while the GBPA may not impose such penalties, he argued that URCA would based on its track record of levying fines on Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).

“They should be fined, but the way the regulation is, you fine them and they will charge the customer extra for that,” he added. “After everything that has happened, it becomes more and more clear that URCA should be the regulator for this island.” Given the regulatory dispute in Freeport, he suggested URCA start with the settlements outside the city and East and West End.

“Since the matter is in the courts, I believe the best position the GBPA can take is that there are no further regulatory actions until the matter is decided in court,” Pastor Victor said. “In court disputes, you’d put everything on hold until a decision has been made. It’s been in the courts for eight years. One has to ask why it’s been in the court for eight years. Put everything in hold until the matter is decided.”

The Coalition chief also accused GB Power of using the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, and the provisions that give the GBPA regulatory authority for electricity in Freeport, to shield itself from being held to account for bad service by the Government and URCA.

“The Hawksbill Creek Agreement is at the centre of all these problems,” Pastor Victor argued. “The Government of The Bahamas gave the authority for this agreement to come into existence. No entity should use the Hawksbill Creek Agreement against the Government itself because the Government represents the people.

“What we have here is that the people are not happy with the service of the Power Company. These entities are using the Hawksbill Creek Agreement against the people and businesses. Why are you using it against the very people and government that gave birth to it.

“Don’t use it against the people. That’s really what bothers me as a citizen. You are using the Hawksbill Creek Agreement to work against people not happy with the service.”