Of course they can say this as their supporters are getting electricity for free via subsidies and illegal connections. Remember how the pnc/afc man killed the GPL supervisor when he tried to disconnect the illegal connection.

Gov’t blames Opposition for GPL’s 26.7% impending rate increase

Written by Nadine Sanchara, Monday, 10 June 2013 22:46, Source

THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has laid blame for the impending increase of 26.7 percent in electricity rates squarely on the shoulders of the combined Opposition, which slashed $5.2B from the subsidy allocated to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) in the 2013 national budget. During a PPP media briefing yesterday, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said there can be no word but “unconscionable” to describe the imposition of this cut, because, according to him, no right-minded Guyanese would question the need for investment in electricity in Guyana.

The minister pointed out that electricity tariffs have not increased since 2007, even though the price of fuel has since gone up. He added that GPL has carried this increased cost without passing it on to its consumers, and noted that GPL was therefore in financial distress even before the cut to the subsidy was imposed, but the cut exacerbated the situation.

Singh said that whilst it is unwelcome news, it should not be surprising that GPL now finds itself in a situation where its finances cannot sustain its operations without increasing tariffs.

He said he hopes the Opposition is taking notice at the implications being faced by the Guyanese people because of the budget cuts, especially since Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, was quoted in a local newspaper yesterday saying that no impact has been seen yet from the cuts.

In regard to asking for a supplementary provision in the National Assembly, the Finance Minister said the idea that the Opposition could impose a cut to the budget and then government could ask for a supplementary is “nothing more than a smokescreen.”
He questioned why the Opposition did not approve the entire subsidy in the first place, given that every question in this regard was answered by the Government.

Singh also related that the increased rate in electricity tariffs will impose an increased burden on both individual households and commercial entities on GPL’s power grid.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Finance Ministry, Mr Juan Edghill, said reading the Opposition leader saying there has been no implication to the budget cuts can only cause one to think that he is “either not well advised, his foot is not on the ground in Guyana, or his head is not thinking the reality of the Guyanese people.

“Is the impact that Mr. Granger is looking for (to be seen in) hundreds of Guyanese people on the streets protesting because they cannot afford to pay the increase in electricity? Is he creating a platform of political instability to further a political agenda?” Minister Edghill questioned.

Edghill further noted that while the opposition members were loud and aggressive in going after GPL, there was special treatment and almost deafening silence when it came to Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice).

He said the Government hopes good sense would prevail and there would be a hasty retreat to discovering the mistake that the Opposition has made, and there would be acknowledgement to the people of Guyana that they (the Opposition) failed in their responsibility to the people when they made the reckless cut.

PPP Executive Secretary, Mr Zulficar Mustapha, said the PPP is very concerned at the recent application by GPL to the Public Utilities Commission for approval of 26.7 percent increase in electricity rates to consumers.

Noting that this follows the cuts to the GPL subsidy from the national budget, he pointed out that several pleas were made by Government, the management of GPL, and other stakeholders for the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to refrain from taking the step of cutting the GPL subsidy. “They ignored this and went ahead, fully aware of the consequences it would have on consumers,” he said.

Mustapha further emphasised that the Opposition cannot pretend to be ignorant of the challenges, and what is being done to correct them by the GPL management.

How many threads this Demented_Guy is going start up on GPL?

However some members have taken advantage of the liberty that has been extended by trying to bend the rules to suit themselves.

not a cent if the ppp government want any more money they can start by killing cobra snakes

Reacting to a proposal to increase electricity rates by 26.7% by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the People's Progressive Party(PPP) blamed the Alliance for Change(AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) because the two had engineered the budget cuts which led to it.

"This was despite several pleas by Government, the Management of GPL, other stakeholders and the People’s Progressive Party for the AFC and APNU to refrain from cutting GPL’s subsidy but they ignored this and went ahead; fully aware of the consequences it would have on consumers," said the PPP at a news conference.

The ruling party also questioned the motive of the APNU and AFC when they denied customers on the coastland cheaper electricity through subsidies while supporting the subsidy for Region 10 which votes overwhelmingly for them.

"What continues to boggle the mind is that while the AFC and APNU are putting up all manner of excuses to deny consumers along the Coast the benefit of such subsidies from Government; they did not display this level of concern when they approved the subsidies Government had also set aside for Region 10 to the tune of close to 3 billion dollars," added the PPP.

These PPP bais gatt this whole thing worked out.

This could very well backfire against the joint opposition.  It is clear the rate hikes were a direct result of the budget cuts and now ever Amelia falls is delayed due to the cuts.

Not sure how the opposition hopes to package this message to escape the wrath of the people.  However, they are smart guys, so I assume they have a game plan and end game, apart from mayhem and destruction.

True!  It's called "Punish the people". You see,the poor people lose just because the Governing party says so...well that's what the Govt seems to think.

Now if the people all come together and rally against such a ridiculous increase without violence, there would come change.

Look man, no one here would sit quietly and watch our rates skyrocket like that, we'd be mad as hell and doing something about it one way or the other.

..and we in NA have electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For the people who are still confused/in denial about the reason for the electricity hike, please read below.

 

And in a 6-point explanation, GPL said that the ‘permitted increase’, can be reviewed against the following:

I.    The Opposition in Parliament has recently cut GPL’s capital budget by over $5.2B, despite available funding from loans provided by Venezuela, China and the IADB. All these loans would be repaid by GPL over a period of time;

II.    A recent CARILEC report shows GPL residential tariffs to be one of the lowest in the region (with only Trinidad, Suriname, and the Bahamas having lower rates);

III.    GPL’s last increase in tariffs was announced in 2007 and effected in February 2008, over 5 years ago; the average increase then was 14%, with residential customers facing only 6% and 9% and Government covering a 20% increase;

IV.    GPL’s fuel cost has risen from a weighted average of US$ 64 /barrel in 2006, to US$108, in 2012; in 2006, GPL’s fuel bill was $12.4 B; in 2012, this had doubled to $24.2 B; in 2012, fuel alone accounted for 83% of GPL’s tariff revenue;

V.    GPL has delayed implementing full tariff increases (implementing increases in only 2 of the last 10 years), resulting in GPL having foregone revenue of over $21.7 B (after taking account of the $5. 2B to be recovered from the 26.7 % increase.)

VI.    GPL projects that the Amaila Fall project, expected to start construction at end of 2013, will not be ready until 2017; at which time GPL expects generation costs to be reduced to half of the current version.  The Amaila Falls project is therefore critical to GPL reducing its costs of generation and the impact of fuel costs on increasing tariffs.

AFC chides ‘super salary syndrome’ for GuySuCo big wigs

AFC Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo

“You cannot throw bacon for the boys and bones to the workers,” was the response of Alliance for Change (AFC) Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, at the revelation that Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Raj Singh  will be paid some $2.2M per month. Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, this past week disclosed that GuySuCo will be paying its top man, no more than £7,076 (G$2.2M) monthly. The AFC Vice Chairman during an interview with this publication yesterday rejected the notion and reminded that the company is currently, heavily dependent on government subsidy, but yet the “Donald Ramotar administration continues with its fat cat syndrome rewarding political operatives such as Raj Singh.” Nagamootoo said that the AFC is in no way opposed to appropriate remuneration for competent professionals and would also want to see expert investigations into the financial affairs of what he called a ‘failed state-owned corporation.’ According to Nagamootoo, just as it was unconscionable to be paying the company’s former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Errol Hanoman such an amount, it is equally reprehensible for the company to be paying its current Chairman a similar amount, when many times it cannot pay its workers. “We are of the view that this is a cash-strapped entity on its knees, living out of a beggar’s bowl held out to the taxpayers for bailouts in two consecutive years,” Nagamootoo said. He added that the position the company finds itself in is a poor example of “frugality and austerity” on the part of the administration. The AFC Vice Chairman said that all right-thinking Guyanese should come out in condemnation of the continued “super salary syndrome.” He said that this is even worse when placed in the context that Government had refused to pay a 10 per cent across the board increase to workers. “The fat cat syndrome in which the People’s Progressive Party Civic caught itself in order to butter its friends should be condemned.” Nagamootoo stressed that the AFC is not against paying appropriate salaries to people with specialized skills but rather, is against “rewards for political operatives like Raj Singh at the head of GuySuCo.” Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, while addressing a media briefing on Monday at his party’s Headquarters, Freedom House, had said that Singh, who currently serves as Acting Chairman of GuySuCo’s Board of Directors, is “eminently qualified” to head the cash-strapped entity. The Finance Minister told media operatives that Singh would be paid no more than the equivalent of the most recent substantive Chief Executive Officer of the Company. That position was held by Errol Hanoman, who resigned from the post in 2010. His contract offered by the sugar company stated, “Your annual remuneration while working in Guyana (including salary and pension allowance) will be paid by GuySuCo in Sterling. “Your initial salary (net of income tax and other statutory deductions payable in Guyana) will be at a rate of £74,904 per annum, payable on a monthly basis. Your pension allowance will be paid with salary at the rate of £9,942 per annum.” The Finance Minister was grilled on the ability of Singh to run the Corporation. He responded, “He is eminently qualified and has worked in sugar for a number of years at senior levels.” Dr Singh added that the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors has worked in areas relevant to the management of large organizations, similar to that of GuySuCo.