BPL set for a ‘maturity audit’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

REGULATORS are searching for consultants to conduct a “maturity audit” of Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) in a bid to assess the energy monopoly’s performance and develop better regulatory oversight.

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), in the tender document, said it has a duty to ensure BPL’s electricity tariff rates are “reasonable, reflect efficiently incurred costs and are not inconsistent with, or in contravention of, the Electricity Act and allow an opportunity for public input”.

It added: “URCA has taken the decision to perform a consultancy services for an audit of the performance and organisational maturity of the Bahamas Power & Light Company

(BPL). This to establish baseline performance indicators to guide URCA oversight on how to assess its regulatory impact on price controls and tariffs, accounts separation guidelines and other regulatory matters;

“The objective is to have effective regulatory oversights of BPL that will be efficient and proportionate to their purpose, and without imposing unnecessary regulatory burden.... A air freight terminal,” the Budget documents state. No further details are provided, and “JDL” is not identified. The closest matches, based on Internet searches conducted by this newspaper, are a Taiwan-headquartered company, JD Logistics, and a Wisconsin outfit with a similar name. Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of

SEE PAGE B5 performance and organisational maturity audit of BPL is best viewed as a diagnostic examination of the status quo of the organisation. The proposed audit will therefore seek to independently evaluate the company’s performance status and to establish a baseline for its performance going forward.

“A baseline study of the company’s performance will allow URCA to have effective regulatory oversights of BPL that will be efficient and proportionate

SEE PAGE B6

CARIBBEAN Bottling Company’s top executive yesterday warned “you cannot tax a country into good health” amid private sector fears that a so-called ‘sugar tax’ will be a “poison pill” for small business.

Walter Wells, the local Coca-Cola producer’s chief executive and president, told Tribune Business he was “encouraged” by the Prime Minister’s confirmation that such ‘sin taxes’ will not be introduced in the near future.

Noting that the introduction of such a levy has been oft-debated for many years, he added: “It’s nothing new to us in terms of being a possibility.” Reforms to the Customs Management Act, tabled with the 20232024 Budget, enable the minister of finance to make regulations “providing for the payment of a health and wellness levy on the importation of specified goods, and domestically manufactured goods, deemed to have a negative impact on health and wellness”.

Mr Wells said this merely gives the Government “a greater degree of flexibility as to when it happens. I cannot say that, in and of itself, alarms me. The Government always has the ability to do it when it wants to do it, but it normally happens in the Budget process.

“I cannot really debate whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. My position is that I would prefer to have no tax. If this is to be a tax, to what extent it would compromise our business from an industry standpoint, right now it’s an open question. I’m certainly encouraged by the fact it’s not something stuck in the Budget; take it or leave it,” Mr Wells added.

The Caribbean Bottling chief, though, said sugary drinks are only part of the health and wellness issues facing Bahamians. “The debate makes it sound like sugary drinks are the cause

SEE PAGE B5

Share your news

The Tribune wants to hear from people who are making news in their neighbourhoods. Perhaps you are raising funds for a good cause, campaigning for improvements in the area or have won an award. If so, call us on 322-1986 and share your story.