Intervenor Tricia Watson has failed in an effort to have a NATION newspaper article accepted as evidence in the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) electricity rate hearing. On day 11 of the proceedings of the Accra Beach Hotel on Wednesday, the attorney sought to question a Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) asset management witness panel on an October 2013 article. In the story, Sarah MacDonald, the then head of …
The commission hearing a request for a basic electricity rate on Wednesday issued a final warning to intervenors and attorneys for the applicant regarding their behaviour, and promised to evict anyone who continues to “disrespect” the tribunal.It was the second time that the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) panel has cautioned parties on both sides about their conduct during the proceedings which are considering the request from the Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) for an 11.9 per cent hike in rates to customers. Today, however, was the first time the commissioners told parties they would be removed from the hearing.The panel’s stern warning stated: “If the behaviour continues, the person or persons will be removed from the hearing either physically or virtually. Please be guided accordingly,” the commission ruled.The ruling followed a shouting match between intervenor and attorney-at-law Tricia Watson and lead counsel for the BLPC, Ramon Alleyne whose voices almost drown
Nearly three years after the country was crippled by two consecutive days of island-wide power outages, Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) says it is focused on delivering a more reliable service. This was specifically in relation to the generation of power and the way it was transmitted and distributed, BL&P director of asset management Rohan Seale testified at the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) hearing considering the company’s application …
The Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) told the utility regulators on Tuesday that the Fair Trading Commission’s (FTC) records which show an excess of $32 million in accumulated depreciation rates charged to customers are incorrect and need to be fixed.Director of Finance Ricaido Jennings told this to the panel hearing the BLPC’s application for a basic rate increase for electricity. While Jennings, who was being questioned by the chairman of the proceedings Dr Donley Carrington, agreed that the records should be reconciled, he disagreed about where the adjustments ought to be made.“I am suggesting that the application is based on accumulative depreciation of $853 million and I believe that the $853 million is the appropriate number to use in the application because it represents what’s in the IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards] statements,” the finance director declared. “I believe that once we conclude this application, we should update the regulatory
The COVID-19 virus has struck at the electricity rate hearing on Monday forcing all of the intervenors, the lead attorney for Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) Ramon Alleyne, KC, and some senior members of staff to go online for the session.They joined the proceedings via Zoom after the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), which is hearing the BLPC’s application for a basic rate increase, agreed to conduct the case using a hybrid format. The decision to go online came after several intervenors tested positive for the virus.Before taking evidence today, Dr Donley Carrington, who is chairing the hearing, issued a statement informing all parties that the commission had received information this morning which indicated that “certain persons had requested to be able to join this hearing in a virtual format”.“The commission,” Dr Carrington added, “has decided that today we will be having this meeting in a hybrid format so that persons who would feel more comfortable joining onlin