After looking at my bill form last year and this year, there is a $0.001414 decrease in the fuel surcharge this year as compared to last. Not really the large decrease i think everyone was expecting based on what was said. But I now realize the Government will say what we want to hear, not what will happen, and then hope we forget. Also somehow i used 300kwh more this year then i did last year, even though last year was 31 days as compared to 29 this year. I now strongly feel these bills are made up to get the amount they need and not what we spend.

All Bahamian governments try to make the Bahamian voters believe that they are serving Grouper instead of what you actually get, Grunts!!
Baby I go marry you and we will have the biggest bestes house on the blocks, until the baby arrive and then, who me, don't remember saying that, no siry, you misunderstood, no way!

Oops! 2024, Apr $605; May $480; June $567. 2025 Apr $939; May $761; June $1,025

**Electricity Bills Have Increased — Not Just Consumption**

> “We are not confused. We are reading
> our bills. What we are paying today is
> more—much more—than what we paid last
> year. And we will not be silenced by
> spin.”

In a recent press conference, Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis stated that electricity bills in The Bahamas have not increased, but rather that energy consumption has risen, particularly during the summer months. He suggested that a proper comparison of electricity bills would show Bahamians are “paying less this summer than they paid last summer.”

Respectfully, that statement does not align with the facts.

As a private resident who tracks my household expenses closely, I reviewed my Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) bill from July 2024 and compared it to my bill from July 2025. The data is clear and indisputable:

July 2024 – Electricity Usage and Charges

* Total kilowatt-hours (kWh) used: 1,151 kWh

* Total Current Charges: $340.11

* VAT: Not applied

* Total Payable: $340.11 (excluding past due)

July 2025 – Electricity Usage and Charges

* Total kilowatt-hours (kWh) used: 1,372 kWh

* Total Current Charges: $460.70

* VAT (newly added): $41.88

* Total Payable: $502.58 (excluding past due)

While it is true that my usage increased by approximately 19%, my electricity bill increased by 47.8%. That is more than double the rate of consumption growth. This increase cannot be explained away by usage alone. The cause lies in the billing structure itself—one that includes punitive tiered rates, surging fuel charges, and a new 10% VAT on electricity, which did not exist last year.

Key Cost Increases That Drove My July 2025 Bill Higher:

* The fuel charge for usage over 800 kWh jumped by $46.80—from $75.61 in 2024 to $122.41 in 2025—despite only a slight decrease in the rate per kWh.

* I crossed deeper into the higher-cost tier (over 800 kWh), which is charged at elevated base and fuel rates, compounding the total.

* A 10% VAT, newly applied, added nearly $42 in taxes on top of an already inflated bill.

So no, Mr. Prime Minister—bills have not simply increased because people are using more electricity. They have increased because the rate structure is inherently aggressive, fuel surcharges are excessive, and new taxes have been quietly imposed on basic household utility consumption.

***This government has a duty to be honest, transparent, and responsive. Telling people their bills haven’t gone up when the numbers say otherwise only deepens public mistrust.***

We are not asking for miracles—we are asking for truth. And the truth is this:

> Bahamians are being charged more for
> electricity this year than they were
> last year. No amount of spin can
> rewrite the numbers printed on our
> bills.

Never mind the toggie and boggie guy and the managing.editor and the executive editor and the what is next editor . Working over time when they write something it is biblical when they are corrected it is attacked loose and wily with words.

birdie,
I think Sandilands is calling.
Better hurry.

No sir, the electricity bills have increased more than last year and even the higher consumption in the summer does not justify this. You can try to spin it as much as you want the numbers are there.
So try something different please, because you are not convincing anyone.

Birdie don't even read the real life examples from fellow Bahamians before commenting.

If only Birdie had electricity hook up to he house - he could look at his own bills. Mussy running drop cord to the neighborhood generator? ROFL

Davis is extending his slippery seal act by mocking his own citizens’ intelligence in claiming they’re comparing their current power bill to that which they paid in January, “consumption is up!”.
Does he really think Bahamians are so dumb they can’t figure out it’s hotter in the summer so they use more power?
Or they cannot see that comparing their July 2024 power bill to this year shows they’re paying more for roughly (so far) the same number of days over 90*?

That sort of contempt only makes the boot a surer bet!

Even so the VAT is less. Remember doc minnis increased VAT 60percent. Take a copy of last year bill and this year bill and prove the point if there is one.

You dont read.

**@Island Warrior is the first person I've heard whose identified the problem**. It's among the persons using in excess of 800kwh per month. This is why persons like you and PLP sycophants can call talk shows to say nothing has changed and their bill is lower. This is how they designed it. And yes, it's a socially ethical approach that lower income people should bear a lower burden of cost. But the reality of rising prices today, unless you're in the upper class and uber wealthy, simply having a higher salary doesnt unburden you from the weight of bills.

What isnt ethical is to gaslight higher income persons telling them to wash less clothes and read by candle light.

This is key in what Island Warrior described:
"*The fuel charge for usage over 800 kWh jumped by $46.80—from $75.61 in 2024 to $122.41 in 2025—despite only a slight decrease in the rate per kWh*

The fuel charge for usage over 800kwh was already higher than that for usage below 800kwh, so the more you used above 800kwh, your bill would appear to grow exponentially. That was the situation in July 2024.

**In July 2025 they increased the fuel charge rate for usage over 800kwh by 60%(?) and didnt notify anybody. They knew the rate had increased significantly, but continued with the line that "*bills have dropped*". This isnt "*gaslighting*", this is out and out deception. If spoken from the floor of the HOA, its a more serious charge**

And hence we have the reason that FOCOL Pike and the Govt agreed to a clause in the contract that they didnt have to get approval from URCA for rate changes in the first three years. They can change as they like without notifying anyone.

FOCOL btw declared an extraordinary 20mil net profit. They were extremely pleased.

"*Building on this solid financial foundation, the company’s strong Q2 2025 performance — with net income reaching $20.1 million at **mid-year** — positions FOCOL to **exceed last year’s earnings***"

** Betrayal of public trust. **

Indeed, the 800 kWh threshold was not a neutral line; it was a trigger point—a cleverly designed pivot after which both base and fuel rates spike, compounding the total cost at an aggressive multiplier. The result? Bills increase exponentially even when consumption only increases marginally. It punishes those who fall outside the "low income–low usage" model—not the wealthy elite, but ordinary working Bahamians who need A/C in the summer, a refrigerator for their children’s food, and lighting after dark.

"You are absolutely correct that the fuel rate above 800 kWh was already inflated in 2024, and the July 2025 bill confirmed a $46.80 increase in that specific tier—even though the rate per kWh decreased slightly. That disconnect between actual cost and per-unit rate proves the deeper manipulation: it's not just about the numbers on paper, it’s about how they’re stacked against you behind the scenes."

To claim that "bills have gone down" in the face of this data is not only disingenuous—it is, as you aptly noted, deliberate deception, bordering on misconduct when such statements are made in the House of Assembly.

As for FOCOL's $20.1 million net income—the public has every right to question whether BPL is being operated in the national interest, or as a commercial profit engine masquerading as a utility. The revelation that URCA approval was waived for fuel cost adjustments in the first three years of the FOCOL deal only strengthens the suspicion that this was engineered without adequate consumer protection.

To tell everyday Bahamians—teachers, civil servants, small business owners—to "use less" as a solution, while private energy contracts balloon in profit, is not a public policy. It is a betrayal of public trust.

* We see it.
* We feel it.
* We pay it.
And we will not be silenced by political storytelling.

The numbers speak for themselves. So do the people now.
Thank you for your insight—and your courage to say what others have tried to bury in silence.

The vat was 10 percent. Last year's and this is the same

The question to ask is, why has the fuel charge increased when gas prices are going down?

"***Socially ethical profits refer to the idea that businesses can be both profitable and socially responsible**, generating financial gains while also contributing positively to society and the environment. This involves integrating ethical considerations into business models and decision-making processes, ensuring operations are conducted in a way that benefits stakeholders (employees, customers, communities, and the environment) rather than just maximizing shareholder wealth.*" google

Both major political parties are complicit. Rather than addressing this, they distract the public with immigration debates and climate rhetoric. This isn’t about policy—it’s about protecting corporate profits while overbilling Bahamians.

The real question—why are we paying more for less?—must be at the centre of the next election. *If politicians won’t answer it, then they don’t deserve to lead.*

And someone actually believes what comes out of a defense attorney's mouth?