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Festival City customers were aware of changeover – PM
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has responded to the letter by Leader of the Opposition, Robert Corbin, as it relates to his call for a suspension of the installation of pre-paid meters until it can be reviewed.
According to Hinds, he wanted to put the events surrounding the pre-paid meters into a factual context, stating that the installations in Festival City that caused the brouhaha were not carried out without any prior notice, nor was there any form of discrimination or selection at the level of the individual customer.
He said that it was true that the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) had identified Festival City as a suitable pilot area, then began a course of providing specific working information on pre-paid meters to all customers in Festival City.
He noted that whilst GPL did not start the changeover systematicalIy – from one end of Festival City and proceeding house to house as was queried by Corbin – the company sought to changeover customers who were ready to do so, and at their convenience.
Hence, according to Hinds, the first eight customers whose supply had been converted on that Sunday, were customers who were ready to convert and who were to be at home that day.
“I can now confirm to you that one of those first eight customers was Mr. Carvil Duncan, a Director of GPL, who lives in the area,” said Hinds.
The PM stated that, “as it happened, and as you (Corbin) queried, one of the eight customers did experience a problem after the changeover, I can assure you that the problem was distant from and unrelated to the changeover: it was traced to a touching of wires in a junction box in the residence which apart from being the source of large continuous drain of energy observed, was a fire waiting to be initiated.”
According to the PM, the event demonstrated the detailed information that could be obtained from the prepaid meters, which would enable customers to more readily monitor and manage their consumption of electricity.
Hinds also reminded Corbin about an earlier event where GPL had invited the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and other stakeholders to a public presentation on prepaid meters and the PUC itself subsequently held its own public hearing.
“These interactions did attract some amount of reporting in the media…I think that our engagement in June confirms existence of a degree of awareness of the change to prepaid meters and the sensitivities which might be encountered in this change of payment for electricity consumed.”
The Prime Minister did concede that “whilst I believe that GPL had earnestly done quite a lot to inform consumers generally and to prepare the consumers of Festival City for the change, we can take it from the results, that more, including additional approaches and publicity campaigns, could have been effected.”
He reminded Corbin that GPL, having reviewed the events has made some changes in its approach as it initiates the change to prepaid meters.
“GPL is now beginning at the residences of all its Directors and Senior Managers, as the intention is to convert all domestic and small commercial installations to prepaid metering, and since it is most convenient to proceed by geographical areas, for example meter reading areas, I have urged GPL to also consider proceeding by way of lottery in an attempt to remove feelings of discrimination in the sequencing of areas to be converted.”
He added also that GPL is in the course of installing at all large consumers, a secure and sophisticated ITRON meter with remote indicator and read out and capable of receiving a higher level of individual attention.
Hinds also seemingly lodged a complaint of his own to Corbin, pointing out that the staff of GPL reported that all was going well until trouble was fomented by a group of persons who were delivered by a minibus and provided with lunch.
The staff complained that the vast majority of customers in Festival City had accepted the idea of the new prepaid meters and the first eight were pressured by the ‘Protestors’ to engage in protest action
“GPL staffers who were in the course of carrying out the specific information programme in the area, complained that they were subjected to abuse, being taunted as being house slaves and a lot of more unsavory names.”
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