business@tribunemedia.net
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023
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‘Sooner the better’ over BPL base rate increase By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) chief executive yesterday warned the utility’s base tariff rate must ultimately increase to offset “diminished returns”, adding: “The sooner, the better.” Shevonn Cambridge, reassuring that no such hike is imminent, nevertheless told Tribune Business it is “a necessary adjustment” that must be implemented for future financial stability given that BPL’s margins continue to be squeezed by rising input costs that have only worsened amid the current spike in inflation. No timelines for such an increase have been set, and he added that significant work over a six-12 month period would be required to determine the appropriate base tariff to set. However, Bahamian businesses and households, already facing an up to 163 percent increase in the fuel charge component of their electricity bill during this summer’s peak
• CEO says nothing imminent or decided • ‘Necessary’ to offset ‘diminished returns’ • ‘Not much room for change’ on fuel hikes demand, will be less than thrilled about the prospect of another rise no matter how far away it may be. “The bottom line is that we’re going to have to look at our rates and make the necessary adjustment,” Mr Cambridge told this newspaper, confirming he was referring to BPL’s base tariff. “If you look at what’s going on around the world with other utilities that would seem to be the course to take.” Asked about the timing of any base tariff increase, he replied:
“Obviously the sooner the better, but even the work to get that done requires some time. You’re looking at six to 12 months easily. I’m not saying, though, that it will happen in six to 12 months. I don’t want to see that in a headline.” BPL’s bill is split into two components, each accounting for around 50 percent of the bill. While the fuel charge is supposed to be a 100 percent pass through of such costs to the
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Bahamian charters fear of ‘devastating impact’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN charter operators yesterday warned that being cut-off from the US due to the dispute over this nation’s overflight fees regime will have “a devastating impact” on their ability to survive. Golden Wings Charter and Island Wings, in their respective submissions to the US Department of Transportation, voiced fears they will both suffer “significant financial harm” if the federal agency was to impose sanctions blocking, reducing or partially impeding their access to
the American market and clients. Major US airlines, including the likes of Jet Blue, American Airlines and Delta, are urging the Department of Transportation to do just that unless their complaint over The Bahamas’ allegedly “unjust, discriminatory and anticompetitive” overflight fees structure is addressed to their satisfaction. And, while the Bahamian government yesterday pushed back against their accusations, branding them untrue and demanding that the complaint be dismissed, the US carriers were joined by Spirit Airlines, which blasted this nation’s
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Broker integration vital to end $50m Customs loss By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters THE Ministry of Finance yesterday asserted that broker “integration” with Customs’ systems is vital to eliminating more than $50m in annual revenue losses amid a continuing dispute over whether such requirements are lawful. Kwasi Thompson, former minister of state for finance, reiterated his argument that the Customs regulations must first be amended to mandate that all brokers connect to its Electronic Single Window (ESW), known as Click2Clear, via
KWASI THOMPSON electronic data interchange or EDI. This, though, contradicted the Ministry of Finance’s position that the Customs comptroller has wide-ranging powers to determine the manner and
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Bahamas to US airlines: Respect our sovereignty By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government yesterday accused major US airlines of seeking to use The Bahamas’ sovereign air space without paying for it through “empty arguments” and “attempting to inflame lawful conduct”. The Bahamas, responding to allegations that its overflight fees regime imposes “unjust, anti-competitive and unreasonable” charges on US-based carriers, sought to turn the table on its accusers by asserting that they want to force this nation into the very conduct they are accusing it of by “discriminating against all airlines other” than themselves. Urging the Biden administration’s Department of Transportation to dismiss the industry’s complaint, which calls for sanctions to be imposed on Bahamian airlines flying to the US unless the dispute is satisfactorily resolved, the Government argued that the sector has no standing to bring the current action. While it bases much of its claim on the Air Transport Agreement between The Bahamas and the US, the Government is arguing
it cannot do so because the two parties to the deal are the respective national governments - not the airlines. The Bahamas is also asserting that the Department of Transportation has no jurisdiction to hear the complaint as the dispute resolution procedures in the Air Transport Agreement must be used first to address any grievances. Taking the position that US passenger and cargo airlines are trampling on Bahamian sovereignty in their bid to avoid paying one cent for frequent use of this country’s air space, the Government’s legal filings said they “do not - and cannot - dispute that every airline, including Bahamian airlines, pay the identical charges when flying over Bahamian air space”. The Government’s filings with the Department of Transportation warned that “the positive aviation relationship” between The Bahamas and the US will be “jeopardised” if the federal agency ignores the dispute resolution process in the Air Transport Agreement. And, should it determine to impose sanctions on The Bahamas, this nation will “reserve its own rights to
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