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
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