Is P.U.C. a watchdog or pussycat?
Those are the technicalities, but what about the politics? The Barrow administration talked big, saying it intends to decrease electricity rates by as much as fifty percent and will make legislative amendments to achieve that objective. It’s an assertion that begs the question: “Is the P.U.C. a consumer watchdog or a government lackey?”
Roberto Young, Chairman, P.U.C.
“The P.U.C. is an independent regulator. The Government establish policies, P.U.C. implement policies based on laws and by-laws or even regulations that support those policies, so we are only policy implementers. We are still an independent regulator.”
Janelle Chanona
“But given Government’s obvious policy to reduce rates, how does that impact your work here?”
Roberto Young
“We can only function within the law. We cannot go outside the scope of any law that’s in place.”
Janelle Chanona
“So if Government tells you “you are not to raise rates at any time” then your hands are tied?”
Roberto Young
“If the law, if it’s written in law we can only follow the law.”
Janelle Chanona
“So they would have to legislate…”
Roberto Young
“We cannot perform outside the law. We are an independent regulator takes the policies of the government try to implement them based on the law, we take what the supplier is asking for and also ensuring that they are viable to provide a service, not only for who have it, but also those that don’t have it, try to expand their services and we also balance what is the consumer’s benefits that they should get.”
Janelle Chanona
“But are you really independent then since you are totally dependent on the rules that Government set?”
Roberto Young
“The decision maker is the P.U.C. All the legislation shows that the decision maker is the P.U.C. based on the laws.”
Janelle Chanona
“So what happens if they don’t like your decision, they can remove you?”
Roberto Young
“Government or the public or B.E.L. can take the P.U.C. to the court of law. And it is decided at the court of law whether the decision was right or wrong.”
Victor Lewis, Director of Electricity, P.U.C.
“This is the commission chairman, we are technocrats, we do analysis, we do it brutally, we pursue accuracy until we get there, we are not politicians.”
B.E.L. maintains that the rising cost of electricity from its Mexican supplier and its own diesel generated power, all occasioned by skyrocketing petroleum prices, have mandated a rate increase. While B.E.L. executives declined to comment on its A.R.P. application, the company maintains that while it does not want to engage in a public debate with the P.U.C., it is apparent that the authorities do not understand the issues at hand.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary, Delroy Cuthkelvin, highlighted that one of the government’s concerns regarding Belize Electricity Limited was that the company was in fact passing on the cost of its income tax payments to customers. This morning, P.U.C.’s Director of Electricity Victor Lewis contended that the practice is not unique to B.E.L. and moreover, in the end, it’s the public that must pay for the product.
Victor Lewis
“The buck stops at the consumer. It doesn’t matter what business you are in. If you go to the fish market, if you go to the shop, the buck stops at the consumer. The most the P.U.C. can do—the consumer picks up all the bills. That’s the deal. There is no other deal. The most the P.U.C. can do is to make sure that B.E.L. is efficient and that those bills are the lowest possible, that is what the P.U.C. is after. We are comfortable in business analysis and we are comfortable in saying every business passes on their taxes to the consumers, bar none, including the company you work for.”
The Public Utilities Commission is made up of Chairman Roberto Young and Commissioners John Avery, Eugene Cleland, Mamie Martinez, Harry Noble, Ilona Smiling and Al Chanona.
