Bradshaw tells B&LP to give customers a break

Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw has appealed to the Barbados Light and Power Company (BL&P) to be more lenient with customers who are behind on their bills, particularly those with children who depend on electricity to do their school work.

She also called on Barbadians who can assist these less fortunate households to help them settle their arrears.

Bradshaw made the appeals during her contribution to debate in Parliament on the Control of Inefficient Lighting Bill, 2021, as she noted that BL&P cutting off supply to defaulting customers was having a direct impact on her ministry.

Urging the utility company to re-examine its approach, the Education Minister said: “Now, I will not support anybody being able to earn a living and not pay their bills, but I am simply saying that we are in a very difficult environment right now, many people are still not working.

“I don’t think that we are in an environment where if people could pay they would refuse to pay, but there are genuine cases that are coming to the fore that all of us are well aware of, where I do feel that there needs to be a little bit more leniency being exercised by the entity responsible for light in this country.”

The St Michael East Member of Parliament acknowledged that she had received a good response when making appeals on behalf of her constituents who owed the BL&P, but said she felt a wider appeal was necessary.

“…. Because it really does concern me when I hear parents calling and saying they don’t know what they’re going to do next week because Light and Power may have cut off their electric supply on a Friday afternoon and the children have work to do on the weekend, or they’re not going to be able to do online school because they are not able to get online,” she said.

At the same time, however, Bradshaw urged struggling BL&P customers to be upfront with the power company about their position and make arrangements to settle their debt.

“It works both ways…. If you are not in a position to pay, don’t wait till the bill gets cut off, pay something towards the bill and make a case that you need a bit more time,” Bradshaw urged. (DP)