Two items of news reported in traditional media in the last 48 hours attracted the attention of the blogmaster. The first report in the Nation newspaper with the title – ‘Strong Concerns’ about BL&P call – highlighted a concern by lawyer Tricia Watson about the BL&P asking for a rate increase and accused them of hiding information from the public according to the news report.
The blogmaster has no issue with Watson and her recent prosecution of the BL&P on the airwaves about the request for a rate increase. In fact we need more public spirited citizens getting involved to advocate on the many issues that affect us. It is after all a key element to ensuring a healthy democracy.
However, of interest after listening to Tricia Watson on VOB’s Brasstacks and reading the newspaper report, a question came to mind. Why did Watson think it necessary to come to the public to air concerns? The law governing a rate review hearing must be a public affair and all sides will have an opportunity to present positions under the oversight of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), the regulator. Notwithstanding there is always the opportunity to educate a public about a highly technical matter – the blogmaster’s concern stands.
An explanation of the role of the FTC posted to the website mandates the Financial Services Commission Act (2010) assures John public the FTC has a duty to fairly weigh positions presented by the company (BL&P) and intervenors (Tricia Watson is an intervenor) with the support of subject matter of experts. The verbal darts being exchanged in public raises the unsubstantiated view held by the blogmaster that there is an element of distrust in the system by those representing the people.
The other news item of interest addressed declining car sales on the island. The official in the Barbados Today article titled – Car sales continue to be a struggle says senior executive – lamented car sales were beginning to pick up until the Russia/Ukraine conflict intervened to forestall.
Barbados is a country struggling with a bad economy that has not recovered from the 2008 global financial crisis. In recent years it has been hammered by Hurricane Elsa, volcanic ash from Mount Soufriere, Covid 19 to name the ‘biggies’. Why in heavens name is the leadership of the country doing nothing to restructure and make the transportation system more efficient? Is the blogmaster wrong in thinking what exists is unsustainable?
The importation of food and fuel are responsible for soaking up significant amount of scarce foreign exchange. Citizens continue to be afflicted with excuses from government regarding the pace at which electric vehicles are being introduced to the market. Daily NEW fossil burning vehicles bearing ML plates (government owned vehicles) are seen bouncing around the island. Why are we letting another crisis to go to waste?
Where there is No Vision, There is no Hope
George Washington Carver
In summary, we need to ensure agencies responsible for representing citizens do so in a matter that nurtures trust between all actors in civil society. The blogmaster is reminded of the sudden resignation without explanation to the people of former minister Ronald Toppin. With well over 130,000 vehicles on the roads, where they hell are we going?
David
Of what doth thou speaketh? You’ve just had an election where those people in their infinite wisdom gave these same representatives another 30-love victory. As elected dictatorships go this must be something of a record in world history. Indeed it’s easier to get a 30-0 election victory in Barbados than winning the lottery.
At the same time the dictator-in-chief has a singular remit endorsed by a degenerative population of brass bowls to do as she wishes. Yet not even an overtly elected dictatorship is helping anything.
Further afield, the people held in such esteem , the Europeans, are reversing all their grandiose climate change rechtoric are reverting to coal production as they turn their backs on climate change targets while blaming the Russian Federation for the affect of their own sanctions – you can’t make this up.
Chekhov contends ‘if in the first act there is a gun on the wall by the fourth act that gun will go off’. Do you hear pow pow?
Those same representatives so integral to your philosophy are the very devils which administered the sale of bl&p and everything else. What could be expected when the sole power company is surrendered to rent seekers. These representatives or those cut from the same cloth have given life to the decadent political culture for which you shall be opining for the rest of your life.
@Pacha
What wisdom do you speak?
Source: Nation
This is a time when the temperatures in Antarctica and the Arctic are 30 to 40 degrees above long term average rates.
Be Jesus Christos, we in deep doo doo!
,
“Chekhov contends ‘if in the first act there is a gun on the wall by the fourth act that gun will go off’. Do you hear pow pow?”
If you watch US TV their drama storylines are not credible, but after a couple of episodes you go with the flow and will binge watch every series, guns going off in the first couple of minutes is standard
“Be Jesus Christos, we in deep doo doo!”
Jesus is coming back and his spirit will have more influence than the first episodes series
Pacha on the ball as (almost) always… 🙂
Do you REALLY not see the writings on the wall David…?
Or are you just being provocative as always…?
What do you NOT see about ALL the indicators pointing in the WRONG direction?
Bushie is estimating that by THIS yearend it will be clear even to Enuff and Lorenzo…..
@Bush Tea
When sensible people see indicators pointing in the wrong direction, they try to be guided. Those sensible enough try to shine a light in the darkness.
“When sensible people see indicators pointing in the wrong direction, they try to be guided.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Well said, …and 100% correct….for those who are /were asleep.
Unfortunately, the REALLY blind are those who WILL NOT see…. an unfortunate characteristic of brass….
David
There is no more time for that dated mentality. The notion that we could do shiiite interminably and without consequence is no more.
@Pacha
We are experiencing the consequences, the challenge we face will be retrieving the situation.
https://youtu.be/GWvFZ99s558
Take it from him, Varoufakis!
@David, the short answer to your mused query re “Why did Watson think it necessary to come to the public to air concerns?” is very, very simple and clearly outlined in the news report … and you have also supplied the looong answered with this further public information campaign here (and FB etc).
“The law governing a rate review hearing must be a public affair and all sides will have an opportunity to present positions under the oversight of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC)” is quite clear but a request for INTERIM RATE INCREASES does not pass through a public rate hearing BEFORE approval. Thus Ms Watson’s publicity to the issue.
The other item of public interest is the request date for the increase. It’s listed as effective November 1, 2021. That’s an immediate ‘tax burden’ on PAST consumption if approved as requested. That would be a whopper!
Anyhow, as you also allude to the much deeper issue is the overall management of our resources towards sustainability. Obviously we have to stop lamenting on the ‘sunk cost’ of the sellout to Canadian owners and all that and deal with the future … so ensuring alternatives are properly in place is what the Min of Energy should be about and what Bajans should be pushing the govt on …
Fighting rate increases which (based on profits made in last few years) appear to be about improving ROI is undoubtedly vitally important for us all but everyone and their sister understands the true deal is about maximizing solar energy (in our case) as an alternative to oil and gas. Thus the public outcry and education must CONTINUE to go beyond any rate appeal!
@Dee Word
What you stated is the obvious, the salient point is the FTC is charged under law to make the best decision to satisfy all parties.
Why even worry
The damage has been done most barbadians seem to be happy the way things are
Crop over on the way more time for music and merry and pooch back
Who wants to hear all this annoying news
Electric cars slow car sales govt building parks more taxes on the way
So what it is what it is deal with it
People decided this is the govt they want
End of story
It’s all coming full circle…..as ORDAINED….who can’t see, it’s because they planted themselves in and are already on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY….despite multiple WARNINGS over the years, i have no sympathy…and can only write about the fallout..
Christ was a spiritual practitioner who wanted world peace unity
Christ~ianity was manufactured by and for pagan white people and is the antithesis of Christ
That’s why I’m easy
Easy like Sunday morning
HOPE springs eternal. MIA and friends will save wunna till de hurricane come.
https://www.nationnews.com/2022/04/24/time-end-rent-says-pm/
@ David BU at 9:20 AM
Is that so? to satisfy all? No way. It is to ensure fair trading which includes a price for the product or service that does not give the supplier a price gouging advantage. But your position is understandable. This is an area where we the consumer, are getting mixed signals. Is a guaranteed rate of return on investment a proper objective of a Social Democratic Administration?How does it make economic or political sense to divest a strategic industry to the Private Sector and then set up a sham institution to do optics? What really is the strategic objective? Did we do any better than when the local technocrats managed BL& P?
Pacha is correct . This is a new variant of the Capitalist System which seemed to have eluded our local intelligentsia. They are fighting a monster who is as dead as the Dodo, bird.
@Vincent
The FTC rules on a fair rate of return but also has a responsibility to ensure consumer interest is factored.
@ David Bu at 10 :12 AM
What are the consumer interests?
A reliable source/flow of electricity?
A fair price for the service?
Granting investors a ROI that recovers an investment of capital?|How come we cannot do this for ourselves?
Are solar panels economically and ecologically viable?
Who are factoring these variables into the FTC hearing? A lawyer? Is it about Law ? Or Economics and Engineering?
We too like to make sport at poor Black People. Wunnuh worse than in” the good colonial days”. Lol!!
@Vincent
Based on the rider/rates it does not make economic sense to install a grid tied system.
The ftc must insure a fair rate of return and protect consumer interest as well. Is this what the consumer protection act is guard for?
” Prominent businessman Ralph “Bizzy” Williams said Barbados can be entirely powered by sun, saving the country US$200 million a year.
“We are throwing that away now with buying fuel . . . . The sun cost don’t change. Once you invest the money in the alternative energy equipment and so on and install it, that price is fixed. After that the only thing that can change is the price of sunlight.”
@ Hants at 11:11 AM
What about the initial costs of the capital equipment and the recurring costs of maintenance and the debris ? What about the storage of the electricity to be used at nights and rainy days? Have you seen a project evaluation of the real costs of Solar Energy and the disposal of the waste attached thereto? Is it really free and as environmental friendly as is touted? Where are these Costs \Benefit analyses? OR are we assuming that they exist.?
I am sure that these are issues to be addressed. If they were all solved would the MDCs be returning to fuels that took millennia to be stored in fossils? Yes they are stored sun light as well.
Hopefully the price of electricity will double. Anyone who generates electricity in the Caribbean with fossil fuels must indeed be insane or a Brassbowl.
Getting a feeling of deja vu…..like this was already rehashed…
@ Vincent Codrington,
You can call Bizzy and ask him ?
https://www.nationnews.com/2022/04/23/bizzy-says-sun-power-can-save-country-us200-million-yearly/
I worked for a company in Toronto that rented part of the roof of their building to a Solar company that placed panels on the roof and sold electricity to Ontario Hydro.
My responsibility was to ensure that in the event of a fire the generator would be shut off from inside or outside the building.
The owner of the Solar company told me the business had been profitable over the previous 5 years.
You don’t need to remind me that Barbados is different from Canada.
@Hants
Bizzy has built the largest solar system if the blogmaster recalls correctly. Has invested heavily.
Come on peeps, BL&P sees the humongous profits that every lending agency is able realize during a pandemic, and they just feel that it’s only fair if the Central Bank sits idly by as the banks take in more and more profit every year, we’ll why can’t they get their chance at the carcass before just the skeleton is left.
David
Ok. Please supply the holy blog with one instance in the history of mankind where national assets have been sold out to the rentier class thereby creating a foreign owned monopoly and such a situation has been retrieved absent ‘unusual circumstances’
David, certainly you cannot believe that any rate hearings mechanism in Barbados could have any sway over the company’s principle reason for existence, the maximization of shareholder value, as properly defined by international competition and trading on the stock market as the meaning of neoliberalism, extraction and globalization.
If you think that this rentier will consider the relative competitive position of businesses in Barbados or the mean household income relative to other places or any other such ‘trivialities’ or musings ahead of its only concern, profit maximization, yuh lie as shiiite.
In toto, Bajans will have to pay international market rates for electricity.
David
LaPen has lost. The polls held true. 42 to 58.
@ David
A fair rate of return based on what?
So let’s assume for discussion the following issues were present at the BLP.
Old and outdated equipment operating inefficiently.
Non productive staff.
Too dependant on fossil fuel generators as opposed to solar based alternatives.
If these 3 were present at the BLP then what you are saying is that we will grant a return on investment based on gross inefficiency. If the commission looks solely at their expenses and asset base then fixes a return, are you not then asking the consumers to finance an inefficient operation?
Also who on the commission is qualified to act as an energy analyst and break down the operations of the light and power so as to ensure they are operating at the lowest possible cost?
I have a problem with how this whole thing is structured and by extension how we go about arriving at a rate hike. What or who protects the public by ensuring the BLP is as efficient as it can be and that the numbers it presents to the commission are as low as they should be?
The answer is remove the dam protection wunna offering emera and let the alternative energy sector grow. Every other business sector has to compete here why is emera different?
Stupes!
@John A
This is the role of the FTC.
@ David
And I ask again a rate increase based on whose data? Who will the energy analyst be? Who on the FTC is qualified to break down the cost of production of a kw by emera and see how it compares with global or regional rates of production? The FTC is being asked to do something they are not even partially qualified to do.
So it will end with them getting the rate increase based on all the data they supplied and we will pick up the bill as the consumers. It dat simple!
@John A
The process is that the BL&P submits their request based on assumption which are reviewed by the FTC no doubt with support from SMEs. The intervenors will challenge assumptions based on whatever business logic their training and industry practice supports?
Simply put we have a company with a monopoly being protected by the state at the expense of the consumer. Anyone that doesn’t accept that living in LA LA Land.
@John A
The model of pricing used in Barbados is used elsewhere?
David the focus needs to move to cost analysis of a kw not a review of data provided by the supplier for an increase. I can pad figures for you very easily if I wanted to in terms of both over stating expenses or curving gross profit margins. Not saying this is happening simply that it CAN happen very easily and if we are basing our decisions solely on data supplied by the claimant, then we are opening ourselves up for this to happen.
@John A
Help the blogmaster to understand- how does the FTC determine the inputs for an analysis of KW without data supplied by BL&P?
@Pachamama April 24, 2022 4:06 AM “…a degenerative population of brass bowls…”
Who are you calling degenerate rassholes?
@April 24, 2022 10:31 AM “What are the consumer interests? A reliable source/flow of electricity? A fair price for the service?
My response: Yes and yes
@April 24, 2022 10:31 AM “Are solar panels economically viable?”
My response: For many consumers like me who are light users of energy, No. I’ve gathered that a solar setup is about $10,000. Currently I pay about $70 per month for electricity. I am an elder.
Economically viable for me? No.
Still I believe in solar energy even it i don’t practice what I believe
Signed
Average Consumer
Has Mia thrown in the towel? She knows that the game is up for Barbados.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/04/24/pm-says-resilience-of-barbadians-will-get-country-through-rough-times/
Invoking the Elements
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10749683/Wessexes-hit-new-Caribbean-storm-St-Lucia-radio-host-asks-royal-trip-benefits-islanders.html
News this morning : Nation
Muse on this
Greenidge : Advisor to government talking about wages and productivity, in a pickle with NUPW
Mottley: Resuming Rubbing shoulders : politicking
Who is the frigging Minister of Finance
Who we elect to run the country
Who is measuring Greenidge’s productivity
Muse on these things
Peace..
TLSN…utterly disgusting, cousin Boris was warned of the racism and the need to dismantle yet WORLDWIDE…., what racism says he, there is no racism in UK…said he…with conviction…
..then they were warned that they are seen as ZEROS and will only be seen as HEROES when they MAKE AMENDS for the centuries of WANTON crimes against Black/Afrikan people, the EARTH’S ORIGINAL PEOPLE.
..well, they ignored that too…wuh i int body, only carry their goddamn bloodlines involuntarily…
so here they are….
“..then they were warned that they are seen as ZEROS and will only be seen as HEROES when they MAKE AMENDS for the centuries of WANTON crimes against Black/Afrikan people, the EARTH’S ORIGINAL PEOPLE.”
Jolly Old Brits were the original racists on planet earth flying the Jolly Old Roger Pirate and Union Jack Flag
They cover up and deny how evil dishonest and greedy they are and were
#BLACKLIVESMATTER Fires Burning tipped the scale of justice and made them make some token efforts to recognise and address their crimes to humanity
but, Johnson is a racist right wing politician from the school of rich white trash who should be bitch slapped
TLSN…it would have been a wonderful way to celebrate the jubilee, ending it on a humanitarian note….but the opposite actions showed up the mindsets steeped in selfishness…
@ David
The FTC should not be basing their approval of a rate hike solely on what the BLP supplies them. What the BLP is going to supply the FTC is THEIR cost of producing a Kw. That would take in all of the inefficiencies of the BLP. What the FTC need to research for us poor bajans is what is the average cost of producing a Kw globally as well as in the region.
What we are doing here is using the figures presented by the BLP as the yardstick for an increase asked by the same BLP. Who is there as an independent energy analyst to confirm that the said company is running at optimal efficiency and hence a rate increase is valid?
For example are the holding back on expanding their solar base so that they can max out the life of their antiquated diesel generators? Are we now going to be asked to support their decision to do this? To view this rate increase fairly it can not only be based on what the BLP supplies, it has also to take into account their kw rate cost as compared to those in the region. And how is that done you may ask? Very simply actually here is the formula.
Total audited expences ÷Total Kws Produced per year= average cost of production per kw. When they get that figure then compare it to the cost of production globally and in the region. I think you will find that exercise an eye opener!
Thanks John A, unsure what you recommend can be practically implemented but admit this is outside of the blogmaster’s area of expertise.
David
Somebody in Barbados was once called NATO. And that’s a good nickname for Mugube.
No Action Talk Only.
But you should tell the unvarnished truth. And in relation to rate setting the FTC’s only role is the pretense that some deliberative process will be gone through when in truth and in fact the Commission serves the political purposes for which it was set up. Economy is determined by the Company. And the Company alone.
Tell deh trute!
@Pacha
Did you read the sentence that referred to the sudden resignation of Ronald Toppin.
@John A
Thanks John A for helping me to search for where we are.
@ David Bu
Is the FTC fit for purpose?
What is its purpose? Is it simply following precedents OR has it recognised the new reality in which it has to operate? Its approach appears to be? legalistic. John A has clarified a more relevant approach.
@ Vincent
The blogmaster no problem with John A’s approach in theory. What is clear is how it can be accomplished without taking into consideration calculations known only to BL&P.
Interesting.
Sorry for above video which I posted on the retirement blog.
Where we are going.
@ Vincent
Thing is too that the information I am steering them towards is available for every major power company globally. All power companies can be asked to present their production cost per kw. It is a basic formula that is used globally to arrive at the data. All the long talk and financials they bring to support a hike if the above approach is not used, comes to nothing. As we would say it us only fluff and window dressing if we dont compare their cost of production to an average benchmark rate.
For instance Florida Power has one of the lowest rates of kw production in the USA. Florida has a similar climate to ours so the association can start there. Florida Power also has very diverse generation sources as well.
Wunna stop swallowing what paper people shove in front you to read and do little research instead.
@John A
What if the local power company is not equipped to achieve the best global standard for whatever reason?
Then let them come to the consumers and tell us why not when they already are being paid a dam high Kw charge!
@John A
Isn’t it up to the intervenors to raised alternatives for consideration at the public hearings? Has the recommendation you mentioned been raised by them and if no why not?
Pacha…. Musk, just snatched twitter..
Another disastrous day for the Royal family.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61221706
” She also announced that the BTMI’s office for cruise operations would be set up in an already available section of the Barbados Consulate in Miami and would initially be headed by a senior business development officer from the BTMI’s Barbados office while a recruitment drive was carried out for a director of cruise to ultimately manage that area of the BTMI’s operations.”
recruitment drive ?
merrily we roll along
I don’t want an apology. I want MONEY.
TLSN…don’t know what they are getting out of prolonging the facade, it’s not amusing, and our grandchildren/future generations deserve an explanation. The resistance can only grow..
“We too like to make sport at poor Black People. Wunnuh worse than in the good colonial days”.
You onstand! Then they talk about voter apathy.
Waru
Elon Musk is a globalist. We know where they get their money and the role to be played by them. Serving the most wicked ideas ordinary people must struggle against.
Mugabe is another chosen one as well, at a lower level nonetheless. Nothing that she has done will do is happenstance.
The irony is that public opinion is so twisted by propaganda that some colleagues elsewhere have been so debased that they now look to an ‘idiot’ like Musk to save us. And we use this description of him applying it’s former meaning.
@ Pacha
Have you considered a trip to Syria….?
It just came to Bushie…. as clear as day.
You are the exact personification of a fella called ‘Saul’, who some time ago who had an ‘incident’ on the road to Damascus.
The result would be a wonder to behold….
LOL
re Elon Musk is a globalist.
re The irony is that public opinion is so twisted by propaganda that some colleagues elsewhere have been so debased that they now look to an ‘idiot’ like Musk to save us. And we use this description of him applying it’s former meaning.
VERY INTERESTING?
IS HE JEWISH?
THEN HE COULD BE ANTICHRIST WAITING TO BE REVEALED
WATCH THE BIBLE ILLITERATES BARK AND BRAY NOW IN THIER IGNORANCE.
MUGABE MUTTLEY IS A MERE SARGEANT MAJOR ANTTIOCHUS IV EPIMANES. SHE ONLY HAS LOCAL CLOUT. HERE ONLY GRAVITAS IS IN HER INCREASING AVOIR DU POIS.
Vacancies in Canada for Room Attendants and Stewards. Barbados appears to be an international holding pen for cheap labour. We boast about our education system. India has no problem in exporting her skilled IT and educated workforce. Do we really want our young people to be exiled abroad employed as Room Attendants in cold Canada? Has the GOB been paid a commission?
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/04/25/job-opportunities-for-room-attendants-stewards-in-canada/
End Times. Millennialism, Premillenialism, Dispensationalism. Stained glass window inside a church Churches believe that God has a divine plan ©.
Daily Warm Up
Warm up exercises prepare your body and mind for Dahn Yoga classes. They comprise of Dan-jon tapping, Intestine exercises and upper body opening exercises. You can practice the warm up anytime but it is recommended to practice it always before starting Dahn Yoga classes.
Funny that they are never able to find locals for jobs above a certain level, but they come looking for us when lower level jobs are available.
Fifty to sixty years in the tourist business..
Hope we are not saying that unskilled or semi skilled workers should not get the opportunity to better themselves. It is impossible given the structure of the local economy to create job opportunities for everyone. Immigrant labour is nothing new.The tourism business is not going away any time soon, what we must do is created other avenues for opportunity.Let us wish those who will find work well and that they use the opportunity as a spring board to improve themselves.
People with professional qualifications are usually able to seek jobs to meet their expectations. It is the unskilled and semiskilled who need help.
https://barbadosunderground.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/ftc24.png
Read Consultation Paper – The Barbados Light & Power Company Limited’s Request for Interim Rate Relief
“The irony is that public opinion is so twisted by propaganda that some colleagues elsewhere have been so debased that they now look to an ‘idiot’ like Musk to save us.”
a boer clown from South Afrika….but an accumulation of paper impresses the weak willed…
TLSN….the slave trade as redefined in the 1800s…..slavery tourism…
What interim rates what??!!
Lotta shiite.
So why would the FTC be holding a ‘rate relief consideration’ while a substantive rate case is ongoing?
Since refunds will be given to customers if the full rate case does not grant the requested rates how does this make sense?
Shiite man!!! Who exactly comprises this ‘Commission”? School children?
Why not just complete the damn Rate Case.
They have talking about this shiite now for eons….
Then again, we have shiite lawyers involved, so the SIMPLEST of matters will take forever, cost a fortune…. and probably end up with the usual stupid outcome.
What a damned place….
@Bush Tea
From reading what is in the public FTC rules provision for an interim consideration?
What rules what!!?
This is Brassbados Boss…. anything goes…
You have a company bragging that they have not applied for increases in 12 years, and now that they HAVE applied, they are claiming unprecedented urgency… they NEED money from LAST YEAR??!!
If Bushie was suspicious the Bushman would think that they have ‘Rate Case Phobia’..
As to the FTC..
Who is this Body anyway? what is their expertise? How are they appointed?
…and what ever happened to the last Director…?
@Bush Tea
You are aware how these public companies operate, the job description of the CEO demands predetermined returns are achieved. By any rh means necessary.
predetermined returns are achieved. By any rh means necessary.
~~~~~~~
Just so you understand why Brassbados is a ‘preferred business jurisdiction’.
Managing Expectations..
Rates will be going up
UP! UP! UP!
⬆ Up 😀😂👌❤️😍
Pacha…boer clown extraordinaire is at it again……
never drank garbage sodas anyway, so no one can spike my drink without my knowledge…he was joking about twitter too…lol
“Elon Musk says he’ll put the ‘COKE’ back into Coca-Cola
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has joked that he will buy up the Coca-Cola Company after his high-profile purchase of Twitter, vowing to bring back an infamous – and now highly illegal – ingredient once contained in the drink.
“Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in,” he said, playing on an increasingly popular meme instigated by his $44-billion purchase of Twitter earlier this week.
While the soft drink has long been one of America’s most globally recognized cultural exports, its original formula contained some questionable ingredients, chief among them cocaine.”
Source: Nation
We going with Dr. Ronnie recently elected President of the DLP.