Two years of high unemployment and tepid economic growth means that Bahamian consumers are less able to absorb the spike in gas prices and its effects

Conserving energy

thenassauguardian editorial



If you have had to fuel up at the gas pump over the last week or so, you have probably noticed that gasoline prices are rapidly on the rise.

A gallon of gas is already over the $5.20 mark in New Providence and over the $6 mark in the Family Islands, and summer’s not even here yet.

U.S. and international energy officials have warned that oil prices — already topping $100 per barrel — will only continue to climb due to volatile conditions in the Middle East and ongoing pressure on world food prices.

Some predict that prices at the local pumps will hit the $6 per gallon mark as the temperature continues to rise.

For residents of the Family Islands the situation is even more disconcerting. Most have longer distances to drive in the well-spread out settlements, and with maybe the exception of Abaco, most of those communities have lower income levels.

Higher gas prices in a country like The Bahamas that depends on imports to survive means higher electricity and food bills — and just about higher everything else.

Higher gas prices will also take dollars away from people who have already had to become accustomed to living with less as the economy struggles to recover from a deep global economic recession.

Two years of high unemployment and tepid economic growth means that consumers are less able to absorb the spike in gas prices and its effects.

The airlines that bring in our tourists who support our major economic pillar will no doubt be looking to raise their fares to compensate for the higher fuel prices.

This could mean that fewer people dreaming of a vacation in The Bahamas may have to shelve plans, again, because of higher ticket prices.

It would be a shame if high gas prices put a brake on the fragile economic recovery.

The most recent figures from the Department of Statistics show that the average retail price of gasoline and diesel rose by 23.8 percent and by 14.1 percent. The Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s average fuel surcharge has also increased by 36.8 percent.

It’s a situation that the government is monitoring very closely. Not only do high gas prices present obvious implications for domestic gasoline, electricity and food prices, but it also impacts the government’s fiscal position and the broader economy.

“As necessary, the government, the private sector and consumers will need to implement appropriate conservation measures to minimize the impact,” Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said recently.

The government has launched a national energy efficiency program, and has completed an energy audit of some of its buildings and facilities, and plans to implement the recommendations of that report. As a part of the program, 270,000 Compact Florescent Lightbulbs will be distributed nationwide over the next two months.

What else can be done to soften the impact of the blow that higher oil prices will deliver to our economy?

What is the status of the implementation of the National Energy Policy’s recommendations on how a more sustainable energy mix could be attained in The Bahamas to reduce the country’s almost 100 percent reliance on oil imports?

The government should implement sooner rather than later a detailed energy plan which should include some basic elements that could be introduced fairly rapidly to help the public meet the challenge of skyrocketing energy prices.

One step forward in this regard could be the improvement to the public transportation system to make it more reliable and accessible to a larger number of users.

Individuals must also do their part to conserve energy, such as car-pooling and making sure that fans, lights and TVs are turned off when not in use.

4/7/2011

thenassauguardian editorial

Bahamas Blog International

Political interference has resulted in "low operating efficiency" and "misuse" of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) - says Consultant's Report

BEC 'misused' from political interference


By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor


Political interference has resulted in "low operating efficiency" and "misuse" of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), a consultant's report has confirmed, urging that it be allowed to operate as a commercial, profit-driven business supervised by an independent regulator.

Fichtner, the German consultants hired to perform an overview of the Bahamian energy sector's ownership and regulatory structure as part of an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded project, recommended that there be "a basic change in the institutional set-up and the existing framework of the regulatory sector".

Noting that BEC was currently under government control, with the administration and BEC effectively regulating itself, the Fichtner report concluded: "The existing direct relationship between the Government of the Bahamas and BEC.... creates direct political influence on the provision of services, which very often results in the misuse of the Corporation for political targets, low operating efficiency due to missing efficiency incentives and low accountability of the utility."

Consultants:

As a result, the consultants urged that going forward the Government had to confine itself to setting policy and strategies for BEC and the energy sector, overseeing their implementation.

An independent regulator, likely the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA), was also recommended for the Bahamian energy sector, with BEC charged to "operate as a profitable, commercial enterprise" regardless of whether it is publicly or privately owned.

Fichtner's report also noted that BEC had a "quasi monopoly" under the existing Electricity Act, as no other person could produce power exceeding 250 kilowatts (kWh) without prior approval from the relevant minister. The only exceptions to this were back-up generators.

"The Electricity Act, as the major piece of sector legislation, does not address the relevant issues that are required to implement the objectives of the Government of the Bahamas as set out in the National Energy Policy," the report said. "In fact, the Electricity Act adversely affects the implementation of such policy, and is therefore suggested to be replaced."

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International