By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Two legal battles challenging the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) authority to supervise Freeport-based utilities have “stalled” over bids to have the judge overseeing the cases step down.

URCA, in unveiling its 2024 annual report yesterday, revealed that long-running challenges by both Grand Bahama Power Company and Cable Bahamas to its ability to regulate their Freeport operations are awaiting rulings on applications for the trial judge to “recuse” themselves. No reason was given for this move and, while the judge was not identified, Tribune Business understands it is Justice Loren Klein.

“At the beginning of 2024, there were two pre-existing litigation matters. Both of which are stalled awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court on a submission in limine surrounding the application requesting the recusal of the trial judge assigned to hear both matters,” URCA said.

Both GB Power and Cable Bahamas are contesting the Nassau-based regulator’s authority to oversee their operations in Freeport. They are arguing that this is superseded by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, which gives the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) the authority to regulate all utilities in the Port area.

“This case, initiated by the Grand Bahama Power Company, contests URCA’s jurisdiction to regulate various aspects of electricity functions within the Port Area, citing a potential violation of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,” URCA’s annual report said of legal action that began almost a decade ago. Cable Bahamas launched its own, separate action a year later in 2017.

“This case questions whether Cable Bahamas’s telephony and Internet services within the Port Area are subject to URCA’s licensing requirements,” URCA added. GB Power had initially sought an injunction to prevent URCA “from regulating, or seeking to exercise licensing and regulatory authority” over it.

GB Power’s action is founded on the basis that, as a GBPA licensee, it is licensed and regulated by the latter via the Hawksbill Creek Agreement - and not by URCA and the original Electricity Act 2015.

It is arguing that the previous Electricity Act’s sections 44-46, which gave URCA the legal right to licence and oversee energy providers, “are inconsistent, and conflict with, the rights and privileges vested in [GB Power] and the Port Authority” by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

GB Power’s statement of claim argues that itself and the GBPA “have been vested with the sole authority to operate utilities”, including electricity generation and transmission and distribution, within the Port area until the Hawksbill Creek’s expiration in 2054.

However, the new Electricity Act 2024, which treats Grand Bahama as a Family Island, makes the Grand Bahama Power Company the “approving authority” for anyone submitting a proposal to supply electricity to the public on the island.

The Act states that any approvals by such an “authority” must also be given the go-ahead by URCA, and this has been interpreted as a neat way of circumventing the GBPA’s utilities regulatory authority in Freeport and transferring it to URCA via GB Power Company. Thus the stage for another major regulatory and legal clash has been set, with URCA initiating its own fresh litigation last year.

“In 2024, URCA commenced litigation action against the Grand Bahama Port Authority,” it said. “This case seeks, among other things, injunctive relief to prohibit and restrain Grand Bahama Port Authority from receiving, considering, and/or approving rate electricity adjustment applications from Grand Bahama Power Company or any public electricity supplier within the Port Area on the island of Grand Bahama.”

Elsewhere, data published by URCA suggested that an upward trend of increasing fixed-broadband Internet subscribers only occurred after Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite-based service entered The Bahamas market in 2023. The year before, total 84,022 fixed Internet connections were lower than the 86,000-plus that prevailed in both 2016 and 2017.

However, in 2023, fixed-broadband Internet connections rose by more than 11,000 or 13.2 percent, jumping to 95,132 compared to 84,022 the year before, before increasing by another 6,000-plus to 101,396. Starlink has been targeting the Family Islands and remote areas where the two legacy providers, Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), have no fixed infrastructure.

“BTC, Cable Bahamas and Starlink are the retail fixed broadband service providers in The Bahamas. Previously, BTC and Cable Bahamas were the two main providers of this service until Starlink entered the market in 2023,” URCA said.

“Cable Bahamas provides retail fixed broadband on New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera, while BTC and Starlink provide service throughout The Bahamas. Fixed broadband subscribers increased by 6.58 percent from 95,132 subscribers in 2023 to 101,396 subscribers in 2024. The fixed broadband penetration rate increased to 24.98 subscriptions for every 100 persons.”

As for mobile services, URCA said: “The number of mobile phone subscribers decreased by 2.92 percent year-over-year, representing the largest decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020. The market went from 399,630 subscribers in 2023 to 387,960 subscribers in 2024, representing a 2.92 percent year-over-year reduction.

“Simultaneously, the mobile phone subscriber penetration rate for 2024 decreased by 3.93 percent compared to 2023, from 99.47 to 95.56 mobile phone subscriptions for every 100 persons.” Turning to data, URCA added: “The mobile data only service relates to users who subscribe to mobile broadband services via a laptop/tablet with 3G/4G connectivity or a USB dongle with no mobile voice or SMS messaging services included.

“For the avoidance of doubt, those who access mobile broadband via a smartphone are not included in this category. The number of mobile data-only subscribers increased by 11.92 percent in 2024.”

When it came to fixed-line voice services, URCA added: “After last year’s significant increase in the number of subscribers, and two consecutive years of year-over-year percentage increases, fixed voice service/landline subscriptions resumed its previous downward trend to record a 3.77 percent decrease between 2023 and 2024.

“Subsequently, the penetration rate decreased from 24.08 to 22.93 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. Cable Bahamas retains the position as the leading provider for pay TV services in The Bahamas via its cable and IPTV offerings, while BTC offers IPTV to selected islands.

“After a period of declining pay TV subscriber numbers from 2018 to 2022, the number of pay TV subscribers increased for the second year in a row and also had its largest year-over-year percentage increase to date. Pay TV subscribers increased by 7.5 percent from 56,553 subscribers in 2023 to 60,800 subscribers in 2024.”

As for renewable energy systems, URCA added: “There was a 12.71 percent increase in installed capacity and a 13.6 percent increase in installed systems in 2024.”