The negotiation process between the government and bidders who seek to become a managing partner for The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) is expected to get underway soon, this according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip Davis.

He added that the government hopes to select this managing partner for BEC before the end of this month.

“It has now been structured, the taskforce that has been created has visited the three or four entities which we think we hope to enter into negotiations with and I think negotiations should start very shortly with each of them to determine which entity we will engage with that contract,” he said.

Last year, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that the government intends to divide BEC into two separate entities where one company would run the transmission, distribution and customer billing while another offers power generation.
Originally eight companies were shortlisted for the future restructuring of BEC and invited to submit bids to the government’s proposal to be a managing partner.

“We seem to be on target with the path that we have created to where we want to be with our overarching goal of lowering electricity to the Bahamian people,” Mr. Davis said.

“Our target date is to have somebody selected within the next two weeks with details and completing negotiations hopefully by the end of December.”

BEC has experienced many challenges over the years, in particular this past summer when residents and businesses were plagued by rolling blackouts.

The corporation intended to purchase six new generators to improve its services but recently BEC Chairman Leslie Miller lamented that those plans are now squashed because the corporation does not have the money to purchase those generators.

Mr. Miller has also repeatedly renewed calls for a new power plant to meet the country’s growing demand for electricity.
At last report, this new power plant is estimated to cost some $200 million.