URCA urging public feedback on electricity sector document

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is urging Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) customers to comment on its draft consumer protection regulations for the electricity sector before it closes on Monday.

URCA Corporate and Consumer Relations Manager Mavis Johnson-Collie appeared on Guardian Radio’s “Morning Blend” talk show yesterday along with URCA Regulatory Manager Mark Hudson to encourage Bahamians to give their feedback on the document.

URCA extended the cut off date for feedback to Monday in order to give the public more time to have their say on how BPL interacts with its customers.

The document was first released at the end of September for comment and was initially available for comment for only 30 days.

“Once this document is finalized, once this document has been vetted, after we have looked at responses and it’s put up, this will be the document that guides how your grievances will be resolved and how issues pertaining to anything to do with your service from the licensees will be adjudicated,” said Johnson-Collie.

Hudson said URCA extended the closing date for comment in order to encourage “the feedback of consumers in particular”.

He explained that while URCA regularly accepts suggestions from the public on how its licensees are engaged, public consultations to change those regulations don’t come around very often.

“These consultations don’t happen every week,” said Hudson.

“If you could imagine as a business somebody says ‘this is the way you are supposed to operate, we’ve consulted with all your customers about it and this is the way you’re supposed to operate’. So, the business goes ahead and manages itself in accordance with those rules and then next week you come back and say, ‘Oh no we’ve updated those, we have to change those, so this is now the way you have to operate.’ We have to balance how frequently it’s updated, depending on the nature and the magnitude and impact of those suggestions.” 

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/urca-urging-public-feedback-on-electricity-sector-document/