Gov’t mulls BVIEC and Water & Sewerage merger

The government is considering a potential merger of the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) and the Water & Sewerage Department (WSD) to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Minister for Communications and Works Kye Rymer announced the move during the recent budget debate in the House of Assembly. However, the proposal has sparked controversy among legislators.

Opposition members outlined WSD’s challenges, highlighting the department’s significant financial losses and inefficiencies. Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn stated, “You can’t be spending $29 million and making only $5 million, and the water is being produced. Every year, we come back, and this has been the status quo. We’re just happy to allow $24 million to go out of the window like that. That can’t happen.”

“The minister is saying he wants to merge Water & Sewerage with BVIEC. Minister, don’t do that,” Walwyn urged. “Do not do it. You’ll be making a mistake. Fix the problems with Water and Sewerage first. Fix them first. And if you want to hand it over after you fix it for management and maintenance, do that.”

Proven business process

However, Rymer defended the move, arguing that the BVIEC has proven business processes and that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. “They have the experience and they have a board structure in place,” Rymer said. “We are bringing Water and Sewerage into a statutory body.”

According to Rymer, “There are synergies between water and electricity. The business of water and electricity, they are similar.”

The WSD has been a long-standing concern, with ongoing water production, infrastructure, and revenue collection issues. However, Rymer argued that a merger between the two entities would mean two business units within the BVIEC. “Water would have their section and electricity would have their section,” he explained.

He also criticised opposition legislators for their positions during the debate. “The lights are on and the camera is on right now so you hear the [Opposition] members speak of certain things,” Rymer said.

The minister said Opposition members did not submit any questions about the merger during the Standing Finance Committee proceedings when they initially had the opportunity. “But now they are offering advice and saying that they don’t think it will work,” Rymer added.

“[BVIEC] already have the billing, the metering in place and the economy of scale. So, I am certain that this merger would be quite beneficial for us as a territory,” Rymer expressed.