08222019 BUSINESS

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business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019

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BPL faces ‘consumer Oil explorer in 2020 first half war’ with class action well drill goal

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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FORMER Cabinet minister yesterday said he is pursuing a class action lawsuit over Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) outages, and warned: “This is a straightup consumer war.” Damian Gomez, pictured, minister of state for legal affairs under the Christie administration, told Tribune Business that Bahamians needed to stand up for their rights and stop passively accepting poor service and high costs from their utility providers.

• Ex-minister ‘actively pursuing’ lawsuit • Says: ‘Time for consumers to stand up’ • Unions backing outage compensation bid Disclosing that he had already obtained the backing of the hotel union, the largest private sector union, for his legal bid to secure compensation for Bahamian consumers and businesses over BPL’s daily load shedding and blackouts, Mr Gomez said he was “fairly confident” such an action could be filed within the next three weeks. Arguing that the Electricity Act 2015 imposes

Just two bidders left for Nassau Flight Services By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net JUST two bidders remain in the race to acquire Nassau Flight Services (NFS) ahead of a key presentation next Tuesday to the committee charged with selecting the best offer. Algernon Cargill, pictured, director of aviation, confirmed yesterday to Tribune Business that one of the three bids received by the government had already been “eliminated” with the process “very near” to completing its evaluation of the remaining contenders. Also affirming that

Tribune Business’s knowledge of next week’s upcoming presentations was “accurate”, Mr Cargill explained: “Part of the due diligence process is to meet with the bidders to discuss their proposal and ensure the committee fully understands the details.

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Energy tax breaks urged amid ‘double whammy’ concern By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government was last night urged to swiftly grant tax breaks for the importation of generators and solar systems to mitigate a “double whammy” from Bahamas Power & Light (BPL). Jeffrey Beckles, the Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that few retailers “can handle” a hit in both the Back-to-School and Christmas shopping seasons if the state-owned

JEFFREY BECKLES utility continues its daily load shedding through year-end. Speaking as the chamber issued a formal statement on New Providence’s energy supply crisis,

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“strict liability” on BPL for failing to provide reliable energy supply, Mr Gomez said the utility and its Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) predecessor appeared to have little defence given that it “seems common ground they have not properly managed their plant”. He added that liability could also extend to the

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AN OIL explorer yesterday hailed its “rapid progress” towards drilling a first exploratory well in Bahamian waters during the 2020 first half regardless of whether it secures a joint venture partner. The Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC), in a statement, said it had laid the foundation to meet its licence obligations by signing a series of financing and service provision contracts with a variety of oil

industry players. Revealing that these arrangements could slash the cost of spudding its first exploratory well by more than two-thirds, BPC added that they would also enable it to adjust its business model and proceed without a joint venture partner should the need arise. While making clear that its preference is to secure such partner, known as a “farm-in”, to reduce its own risk and capital costs, and provide additional technical expertise, BPC said it

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