The Nassau Guardian
BEC to crack down on electricity theft
A Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) task force is preparing to move into shantytowns and other areas across New Providence in a bid to crack down on people who are stealing electricity, BEC Executive Chairman Leslie Miller revealed yesterday.
Miller said the already cash strapped organization is likely losing hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of the increasing problem of electricity theft.
“Now what we have found is that many Bahamians, and some of them are former BEC employees as well as unscrupulous electricians, they will bypass the BEC meter and get their electricity directly from our wiring at the poles,” Miller said during a press conference at BEC’s main office.
“This has become a serious problem. Because of these hard economic times people revert to all kinds of nonsense to enable them to beat the system.
“They’ve employed some savvy techniques and I must warn them now that we are strengthening our efforts to crack down on this type of behavior. We can assure them when it is found that they are stealing electricity, the supply will be immediately terminated, and we are making every effort to enact stiffer fines that they will be required to pay.”
Asked to estimate how many households steal electricity, Miller said “plenty”.
While the problem is “rampant” in shantytowns and some of the poorer communities, Miller said Bahamians would be “surprised” to see who else is stealing electricity.
“It’s not just the poor among us, it is anyone who can get away with it,” he said.
However, as it relates to the shantytowns, Miller explained how the process works.
“One person would have a meter from BEC and this one person would be paying their bill,” he said. “Then we find out that they would make some changes to the BEC box and hook up all their neighbors and friends and bypass BEC’s meter.”
Miller warned that where this type of illegal activity takes place, “BEC will not take pity on anyone.”
“We need the customers to pay us to enable us to keep this country lit,” Miller said.
Miller added that BEC officials recently shut down the supply of a man who was supplying electricity to six people in his middle class neighborhood.
He noted that the problem has been commonplace over the years but has grown substantially recently.
Those caught carrying out the illegal exercise can face hefty fines and even jail time, Miller said.
Additionally, they will be required to pay back the corporation and risk having their BEC service permanently disconnected.
Miller is proposing that those found stealing electricity be made to pay triple what their electricity bill should have been over the time that they were carrying out the illegal act.
He said BEC has a process in which it can gauge how much electricity was used.
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