Shawn Cumberbatch
Some of the damage caused by Hurricane Elsa at the junction of Princess Royal Avenue and Collymore Rock, St Michael. (FILE) Social Share
Barbados’ major utility companies whose ability to provide service was hampered by Hurricane Elsa will be exempt from paying customers compensation, says the Fair Trading Commission (FTC).
However, the FTC is warning the Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P), Barbados Water Authority (BWA) and Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited (C&W) that they “are not allowed free reign and are still expected to restore service within the shortest possible time frame”.
The regulator has decided that the named utility companies, which have some Barbadians without service seven days after the storm damaged or destroyed hundreds of properties, qualify for a standards of service exemption in light of the force majeure circumstance – unforeseeable circumstances preventing fulfilment of a contract.
GOLDEN ANCHORAGE LTD/SUNSET CREST AND BWA Matter barbadosunderground.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from barbadosunderground.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Across the island, evidence of the passing of Hurricane Elsa yet remains.
In particular, uprooted utility poles, many held up only by their cables, dot the landscape, fuelling the fires of those who believe Barbados Light & Power is dragging its feet.
One of the worse areas was Hilswick, St Joseph, where a utility pole still lay across the road. Other St Joseph areas such as Bloomsbury also featured severely damaged poles.
These sights were not relegated only to rural areas as in places such as Cheapside and Mason Hall Street in The City, some poles were still hanging dangerously over buildings, motorists and pedestrians.
BWA: 98 per cent of service restored nationnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Limited access, aging pipes plague water restoration work barbadostoday.bb - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from barbadostoday.bb Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.