BVIEC still recovering from the 2017 hurricanes
General Manager of the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) Leroy Abraham said the power company is still trying to recover from the September 2017 hurricanes so its revenue is not where the Corporation wants it to be.
Addressing the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) late last year, Abraham said the BVIEC had approximately 17,000 customers before hurricanes Irma and Maria. However, regaining and growing that customer base has been slow.
“Until the Corporation can get back to that full recovery base, that is when they would start seeing their revenue. The Corporation has just gotten over 16,000 new customers, so the revenues are not exactly where we want them to be,” Abraham is cited as saying in the 2022 SFC Report.
“COVID was a wild card and disrupted everything for us. But at the same time, the Corporation is trying to be as lenient as possible to some of the businesses that suffered for the past 18 months,” the General Manager added.
Abraham also told the SFC that the BVIEC needs to get some funds from the government. The SFC was further told that a year ago, the Electricity Corporation gave the government the associated cost to reinstate the solar streetlights on Virgin Gorda and Tortola. He then told the committee his team was patiently waiting and hoping it would be included in the 2022 budget.
Premier Andrew Fahie had mentioned the BVIEC’s solar harvesting capabilities during in his budget presentation in November last year. He said at the time was that the Electricity Corporation continues to conduct feasibility assessments on the matter.
Complaints about rising electricity bills
Meanwhile, Abraham also mentioned some of the concerns of residents during the SFC meeting. He made note of the complaints of a sharp rise in electricity bills in the last few months.
The GM stated that based on the global events that are taking place, the base cost of oil has escalated tremendously.
“The posting on which the department utilises to purchase fuel is called Oil Gram, which tracks oil/fuel globally, took a significant increase by 30 cents a gallon,” Abraham explained.
“In every given month, the Corporation receives approximately three shipments of fuel to produce electricity. Every single time the tanker goes to the refinery, it is subjected to international pricing for fuel,” the GM said.
Technical issues not contributing to higher electricity bills — BVIEC boss
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Sigh. Another institution run by people who do not know how.
So we could purchase fuel on the global market using quarterly, semi annual, or yearly hedges. That way the price is locked in and you don’t see the wide price swings every month or two.
And the goal of a PUBLIC ELECTRIC UTILITY is to provide power. NOT to gain customers. It is never been designed to make money or be a revenue stream. This is NOT. a pillar of the economy.
The drop in customers is also related to more people going off the grid, installing solar panels so they do not have to rely on a utility which may go down. And raise prices monthly. Keep the power on, keep prices consistent and you will retain customers.
No service, no customers. Simple concept
Lots of people are still recovering from the hurricanes of 2017. However, BVIEC cannot rob from the needy to get back on their foot. They are now charging $10.00 if you pay your bill one day late. Remember there are some of us who are living pay cheque to pay cheque, and it is unfair to take $10.00 extra from a person who has no other option and cannot pay his/her bill on the exact date. This is not in looking out for the best interest of the people. It is like stealing from the poor.
… can’t I set up Electricity account to automatically pay from my credit card every month?
Yes you can pay each month on your computer with a c/c.
So what’s the status on Willock legal fees? Taxpayers paid the bill yet?
The gym a/c money will pay the bill
If the Government paid even half of their outstanding bill that would put BVIEC in a great financial position. Let’s stop beating around the bush, the real issue for BVIEC is Government racking up huge bills for basketball courts, recreational facilities with lights left on etc. and Government buildings/departments not paying monthly bills. The Government owes BVIEC millions and is their largest customer by far. Which business do you know that can survive if their largest customer does not pay their bills?
Well said!!!….
So when fuel prices raise so does our bill, however when fuel prices drop, like during covid …. my bill never drop. Price only go one way it seem.
Expensive BVIEC power is only for the government offices and their employees so those are your forever customers. Private companies and persons are finding alternative sources of power and are no longer connected to the BVIEC grid. To attract private customers in 2022 BVIEC should invest in solar panel and large wind farms and reduce their reliance on petroleum fuel.
Ya’ll spending more than ya’ll making basically, don’t understand how when majoriy of the population getting power from the corporation,so that’s on estimate over 5Mil every month, seems some executive staffers need a paycut.
Indeed the hurricanes were bad, but when you have a key agency like BVI EC, you’d think there would have been a contingency plan. Even in the absence of one, you might imagine that a response plan would have been developed and implemented afterwards, with key issues identified, budgeted and progress towards them tracked. Even without, you’d think that the GM would be more specific than saying they’ve asked govt for “some” money, and that instead he would make his case with a general plan of action with costs and priorities, other than just getting more customers in a very finite universe.
Key here is how many customers are residential vs commercial, public vs private. What is the revenue from each. What is the payment history? I’d imagine commercial use far outweights private consumption, and that (as pointed out by other commenters) the govt is the biggest consumer, leading to the question of how far they are in arrears. Could it be that BVIEC’s single biggest customer is also its biggest debtor? Moreover, if the biggest consumers are commercail, why is BVIEC beating on residential customers? The time and effort to collect $ 10 residential reconnection fees would be better spent evaluating how to increase efficiency in commercial collections (where due), and or cost containment.