President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, James Carey weighed in on the impact a rise in energy costs can have on the economy of Grand Bahama on Wednesday. Carey’s comments came after the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) announced it had filed a request with regulators to raise its current rates.
Carey told ZNS News, “for investor confidence it has to be shared that the cost of electricity is up there and we can’t definitively say that solarizing part of the grid will impact costs at what stage.”
The GBPC statement on his filing released earlier this week said, “GBPC’s filing requests consideration of an increase in the base rate of 6.3% for all customers which is below The Bahamas’ inflation rate over the past several years of 7.3% balanced with the company’s effective fuel purchase strategy which brings rate stability through 2027. The proposed rate change would result in a small all in decrease for the majority of electricity customers. The all in rate includes all elements of monthly electricity bills including the fuel charge.”
The Chamber President said, “if the operational cost of businesses goes up because of this then that cost is ultimately passed on to the consumers.” He added, “from a humanitarian stand point it’s very unfortunate and it’s something that Grand Bahama residents can least deal with at this time.”
Chief Operating Officer of the GBPC said there is not right time for a right increase but the rate adjustment is to maintain the efficiency and reliability of services.
