Following a newspaper report on Thursday suggesting that Bahamas Power and
Light (BPL) is considering the introduction of a late monthly late fee, which
angered many residents especially home and businesses owners, the electricity
company promptly released a statement on the same morning denying such claims
and explaining where the idea of a proposed late fee was generated.
In the meantime, during the weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime
Minister (OPM) on Thursday morning Keishla Adderley, acting press secretary,
made it absolutely clear that the Davis administration would not support any notion
on the introduction of a monthly late fee for BPL.
She said, “The administration wanted to clear the air and make something
absolutely clear; there was a report circulating about the possibility of a late fee
implementation concerning BPL bills and the administration wants to make it very
clear that the administration has no intention of allowing BPL to impose a $5 late
fee on consumers.”
Similar to what BPL said in a statement also released on Thursday morning,
Adderley went on to explain that the late fee proposal was among five proposals
that were put forth as “possibilities to try and reduce that $100 million accounts
receivable for the corporation.”
Continuing she said, “Now considering the economic conditions, the
administration is not minded to add any burden to consumers when the
administration is doing, as far as BPL is concerned, is improving the infrastructure,
making sure that electricity service is more reliable, introducing other forms of
energy that will ultimately drive down the cost of electricity for consumers. That

is the trajectory, that has not changed and the $5 late fee is not something that is on
the table as far as BPL is concerned.”
According to the BPL’s statement titled ‘Clarification of Proposed Late Fee.’ BPL
does not have plans to impose a late fee on its customers at this time.
The statement went on to explain that it was at a recent Bahamas Institute of
Chartered Accountants presentation, BPL’s CEO Shevonn Cambridge shared
numerous strategies to help the company address its considerable arrears and at the
same time improve the quality of service to its customers.
It said a late fee was discussed as a viable option to encourage prompt timely
payments as it is inscribed in BPL’s consumer protection plan and received
regulatory approval more than four years ago: however, it was never implemented.
The statement goes on to say that for clarity, the late fee was a discussion point and
is not an immediate consideration for BPL.