But PM Barrow had no such hard talk for the electricity company.- in fact he was talking about the possibility of a compromise after meeting with the President of BEL, Lyn Young. Young offered an olive branch: BEL would invest millions of dollars to perform urban electrification in areas such as Belama Phase four where residents do not have access to electricity. The company would cover the cost and recover it over time though rates. And it would also engage on a rural electrification programme partnering with government. That certainly seemed appealing to the Prime Minister – but will it be palatable to the PUC?
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"I hope I am not being overly optimistic but the fact is that I did have the meeting with Lyn Young and I think we made some progress. Of course it is now for the PUC together with the Minister of Public Utilities to try to further the discussions but Mr. Young made two concrete offers that I considered most encouraging."
Jules Vasquez,
However is a quid pro quo and they would some expectations of an ‘easing up' from the PUC.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"Well I think in terms of certainly the feeling that we should talk rather more frequently and we should discuss the overarching issue certainly but matters are in court, there are legal positions, and ultimately there is always the recourse to that. I don't want to talk this up more than it actually merits so I will content myself with saying that I believe that it is a good start."
Jules Vasquez,
But then that means you do not hold the PUC's position that BEL's financials contain material misrepresentations which are a detriment to shareholders, specifically the Social Security Board.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"I am not going to comment on that because I certainly will not second guess the PUC. In the context of the meeting that we had, it certainly seemed to me that BEL is of the view that perhaps some concessions some can be made. In the context of that particular issue, on its part, and hopefully the PUC would also see where there might be some opportunity for meeting in the middle."
Our experience with the John Avery led PUC over the past year suggests that Barrow's proverbial "middle" – is not a place often occupied. But however that works out, we note with interest that the PM chose not to come down on either side of the accounting dispute between BEL and the PUC. Certainly, he isn't an accountant, but seems to us that when BEL's $10.8 million loss in the past financial year has a direct and tangible effect on Social Security's bottom line – which is worker's money - the Minister of Finance might want to take a position.
To give some background, the PUC in public documents claims that BEL is misreporting – and that its net income should be $29.8 million – that would give Social Security - which owns 26.5% of BEL - an investment income of $7.9 million. But when BEL reported the $10.8 million loss, Social Security was then forced to report a loss of $2.8 in the investment – further flattening what has already been a bad year for the board's investment portfolio.
