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electric-pole-I know a lady who is in a tricky situation. She has moved into a small district in a certain parish and is without telephone and electricity because there is no pole on which to run the infrastructure. The problem is that the other residents whom she found already living in the district, refuse to purchase a pole from Light and Power and expect her to do it. She has suggested that they all pool their resources and pay for a pole, but the other residents aren’t interested in such an arrangement. Apparently, if she pays for the pole, she will not own it, and will not be able to decide who can benefit from it. She obviously doesn’t find it fair for the entire district to benefit from her investment.

As I pondered the situation, it led me to question why a customer should have to pay for a pole. Isn’t it Light & Power’s job to ensure their infrastructure is in place? Also, if customers pay for their pole, shouldn’t they be able to profit from their investment too?

If there are 10 households in a district, and three of those households pay for a pole, not only do the other 7 households benefit, but Light & Power collects money from all 7 households and hence profits. They also profit by renting LIME the use of the pole, but the people who paid for the pole don’t get any profit from this rent.

Is this situation right? Should this still be happening in 2009? If I pay for a pole should I not be entitled to any profits made from that pole?


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  1. If I am not mistaken, when you pay for a pole BL&P gives you a credit every time they connect someone else to the pole.

    If there are not enough households in a given area, it does not make economic sense for BL&P to put in the infrastructure and then hope that development occurs in the future.


  2. Only in Bim!!

    Laaaaaaaaddddddddddddd!!


  3. If we had a consumers watch group functioning, it would be things like these that would would get change. As far as I know when you buy the pole that is it. No credits for additions, no discounts either. But it is interesting that they get “something” for renting it out.


  4. Sure-fire way to ruin your relationship with ur neighbours, before uv even started!!

    Bim?!!


  5. @General Lee:

    If there are not enough households in a given area, it does not make economic sense for BL&P to put in the infrastructure and then hope that development occurs in the future.”

    The article says there are other houses besides her in the district that refused to purchase the poles.

    Now an another alternative is to install solar panels and generate their own electricity, but how could they do that?

    But still for the telephone, , they have to use wireless telephone instead of cable. Surely it may save some infrastructure costs for the Telecom providers.


  6. BL&P has probably done the maths and realize that the 10 household in that district will not consume enough electricity to justify the cost of getting electricity to the district.

    I do not think that utility companies are obligated by law to provide service to every area that is not near to existing infrastructure.

    Even with BWA, if you are not near to a main, you will have to buy as much pipe as needed and pay a plumber to get your connection near to the main, if you want the water.

    These days, the developer is responsible for getting utilities into the area.
    The residents of that district should seek assistance from UrbanRural or their MP.


  7. Can we find out the real deal on BL&P policy regarding the issue? Does the BL&P give credit to the consumer when they purchase a pole and others benefit?


  8. here in canada if there arent enough residents in an area they, the residents must pay for the power to be brought in and its expensive


  9. “the problem is that the other residents whom she found already living in the district, refuse to purchase a pole from Light and Power and expect her to do it.”

    Another way of looking at it:

    Maybe the other residents are content to live without electricity or land-line telephone service (or know that they cannot afford to pay for the infrastructure), but the newcomer wants these services and expects her new neighbors chip in their money so that she can get what she wants (and quickly too)


  10. I@ David.

    will try to find out what the exact policy is. I know someone who’s grandfather purchased the pole in our gap and as far I know, they don’t collect anything from Light & Power, but I will still ask a question.


  11. Buy a pole… but put a wind turbine pun top..!

    AAAAAAAAghhhhhhhhhhhh


  12. This is not Canada but a tiny isIand. SureIy access to eIectricity can be avaiIabIe for aII. It’s unbeIievabIe that such 3rd worId conditions exist for some whiIe others others on the isIand Iive a paraIIeI existence of totaI Iuxury.


  13. I would move and let my neighbours continue to live in darkness as punishment for their stupidity. Alternately, she could run the power to her house through cables buried in the ground. I can’t believe in this day and age there are people still living without electricity.


  14. @ General Lee you cant compare this to BWA satuation because many people will profit from the pole whereas only one household gets the water.

    Buy the damb pole, how much does it cost? BL&P should Credit the cost of the pole to the person(s) buying it monthly bill. Don’t know about the relating labor cost.

    I Just want to add that Barbados Light & Power is VERY GOOD at what they do.


  15. Ready Done “Barbados Light & Power is VERY GOOD at what they do..”

    …… Extortion…!

    AAAAAAAAghhhhhhhhhhh


  16. @John Da Silva

    Do you believe we have Barbadians who still use pit-toilets?


  17. But David tens of thousands of Barbadians live in zone 1 (and they have lived there before 1962 when zoning was instituted). They are living on their own family land bought in the 1930’s and before. They may now be able to afford to buy water toilets but cannot get lawful permission to install such facilities, and they cannot afford to buy land elsewhere.


  18. There is a fund which can be accessed to put down poles. The BL&P knows about this fund because It is accessed by a request from them to either the UDC or the RDC. That is how it was up to about five years ago when I last made a request for somebody. I really can’t remember the name of the fund but it is a kind of universal fund for rural and urban development.

    I don’t remember there being a qualification to access the fund either.

    Once it is up and in use, the BL&P will replace it if it gets damaged or worn out.


  19. David, some people cannot afford to dig the pit.

    It is often said that Barbados is the #1 developing nation so people would assume that such things no longer exist.

    There are still lots of people today living without running water or electricity in their homes.

    The Ministry of Social Care was supposed to ease the plight of the extremely poor, but has been distracted by other issues.


  20. John Da Silva wrote “I would move and let my neighbors continue to live in darkness as punishment for their stupidity. ”

    Are you stupid enough to believe that people who live without electricity are stupid?

    I lived without electricity for the first 13 years of my life and it is not a major problem to live without electricity.

    Gas stoves work fine. I use one everyday.

    Kerosene oil lamps work fine. I still own several and I use them regularly. There is nothing as sweet as making love by lamplight. And people without electricity probably make love more often, because there are no distractions such as tv, and blogging !lol!

    Now I am not arguing that people should be compelled to live without electricity, but neither should they be bullied by a new neighbor into buying something which they cannot afford or do not want.

    The new neighbor is damn presumptous.


  21. @David

    J makes a good point. Take all those people from My Lord’s Hill for example. The entire area is Zone one. many people got trapped because when they bought the land, water toilets was not the norm and by the time water toilets became the standard, only those who had toilets were allowed to keep them. Note: By law.

    The MP for the area had been asking for a mini sewerage facility but for some reason, it never happened but certainly even a link to a sewerage system would ease that pressure.

    The sewerage system is fast becoming the worldwide standard, even for non zone 1 areas.


  22. @ROK

    Our question was meant to be provocative given John’s position about some people not having electricity in this day and age. The added to idea of many without water borne toilets to add perspective.


  23. @David

    Yes I saw that, but I was also making the point in my last two posts that there are solutions to both problems (so-called underdevelopment). Just a question of willingness on the part of authorities and those who know.


  24. the same situation is happening all over barbados, neigbors are just waiting to see who will buy a pole, by the next day everyone will connect to it, I suggest anyone that is lucky enough to just run a wire and get electricity, and just wait it out, I would even ran my electricity underground to my other house, until a pole comes, I wont buy any until some of the neigbors pool together and pay for it.


  25. Gear Box,
    Pole-arization.
    ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

    J,
    Ya hilarious n’ wicked as hell. I prefer love-mekkin by candle lite not kersine-lite bosey. Scented candles especially.

    ROK
    Lord, i got a frien dat live in My lords hill and dat is true. I doan believe dat in dis day n age people still using toilet-pits that can well afford water-toilet. An de cocka-roaches like ta jump pun ya botsy wen ya leas expect it. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

    Da Silva,
    You soun like a real selfish bitch. And i too chan believe dat people could talk sa much shit in dis day n’age. Evry body doan butt life easy so I doan know why you chan believe people living widout electricity. stupseeeeeeeeeeeee

    If it did me I would buy de pole if i cud afford it an call um a day.
    Anyting fa a ‘hassle-free’ life man.


  26. When I moved to where I am, I had to put in many lengths of pipe plus buy a transformer from BL&P. I was told that if anyone is attached to my transformer within a given period, I would get a credit, however that time has passed and now there are about four othewr connections . With the water, within two months of installing the main, other persons were hooking up to it and there was nothing I could have done. I was not happy about it but I did it for my own comfort and once it doesn’t disadvantage me , I’m not bothered, there are too many bigger problems in life to bother about other than somebody sponging on me. However, i think it is time that matter is revisited but as long as BL&P is getting away with “murder” they would continue.


  27. A quick check with the BL&P confirms what Scout said there. For each person they will give you a credit of $500. So if you ask for the pole and it cost 1500 and three people connect within three years, you will get credit (upfront) up to 1500 each time a connection is made.

    However, if there are 4 residents in an area, the BL&P puts down the pole without any cost to anybody.

    I was also reminded of the Rural Development Fund which in the past help to put down a lot of poles. However, this fund was ended and it was the UDC and the RDC that was mandated to put down poles.


  28. @David

    We need to get to the bottom of that story because if they were 10 people, the BL&P said they would plant the poles without cost… but even if the resident pays for the pole and the others hooked up, that person would get their money back and upfront too.

    The real problem may be that the other people indicated they did not want to hook up because they feared being included in charges for the pole, but so long as electricity runs 100 ft (the law is 60 ft but BL&P allows 100 ft) from your house, the BL&P by law, has to hook you up regardless of who bought the pole.

    The residents should understand that they can hook up as swiftly as possible if they are that many, so that nobody pays for the pole. If it is more than one pole and fewer than 4 residents, then that may be complicated.


  29. This matter is one that I think the constituency representative (M.P.) should be involved. I suggest that this person contact the MP and put the matter to him. He in turn can talk to the other persons in the area. This new person can then become their hero instead of their enemy.


  30. With the pit toiIet situation, it’s a nationwide heaIth probIem if the excrement gets into the water tabIe, can infect springs Iower down a hiII, etc. Barbados used to be famous for having some of the purest and sweetest tap water in the worId. Yes, you can do without eIectricity, true. Kerosine and candIes and a gas burner are fine, I’ve Iived with that happiIy and it’s good that you can reguIate your own expenditure and don’t be heIpIess when there is a bIackout. But Iack of it precIudes ever having access to the internet, being abIe to charge a ceII phone and means that the poor are just excIuded. Don’t forget the fire hazard. Pit toiIets are a heaIth hazard and require a Iot of maintenance, which if you are a hard worker just is one other chore to struggIe at and worry about. This is a tightIy packed isIand, not some remote outpost in the middIe of nowhere so they represent a danger of disease to your own famiIy and neighours and in this cIimate, do worry about it. Ive had an outside toiIet and it can be great to sit and Iook at the moon or cIouds whiIe answering the caII of nature but in the rain??? Going out at night in the weather and coming back in with dirty feet or shoes is no fun. EspeciaIIy if you have animaIs!


  31. victor,
    Have you ever heard of something called shoes?
    Just kidding Sweetheart.


  32. If I purchased a pole today from the BL&P so as to get power to my home,in addition to some of the concessions mentioned, if termites or high winds destroy that pole tomorrow,BL&P will replace that pole ,no charge to me.


  33. @Bradley

    Absolutely correct. BL&P has a self insurance that replaces poles and plant damaged in natural disasters or otherwise.

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