THE EDITOR: The events of February 16 were nothing short of a national disaster in which many of us were held to ransom by a failed electrical system that we pay for with our taxes. As we wait with bated breath on the outcome of an investigation that promises to leave 'no stone unturned,' nothing can erase the fear, concern, agony and discomfort of a terrible day in which businesses suffered, thousands lost water, many were stuck in traffic or stranded for transport and many more wasted hours in the sweltering heat.
I recall the piercing words of Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley in Glasgow as she asked, 'when will leaders lead?' If ever there was ever a time when we needed leadership in TT, that was it. However, our country has been besieged by a blackout in leadership for years and the truth is only exposed when our nation is caught with its pants down.
Dr Eric Williams was right when he said that 'democracy means the responsibility of the Government to its citizens.' In this instance, government includes everyone elected to lead at the central and local levels. Therefore, what is the responsibility of the elected during a power outage? Should they check on those they represent? We definitely see them when they need our vote but how many of them were visible in our communities when the lights went out?
People look to their leaders for empathy in times of distress and expect to be treated fairly in the aftermath of a crisis. Therefore, it is only fair for people to be compensated after hours of inconvenience. According to a CNC3 news report on February 20, the Minister of Public Utilities stated that T&TEC 'cannot be liable' for the outage since it was out of its control and cited the fact that T&TEC receives its supply from 'independent power producers.' But isn't it premature to exonerate someone before a probe concludes?
If the principle of
force majeure applies, T&TEC may not be obligated to pay the low and grossly inadequate rebates provided by the guaranteed electricity standards (GES). However, for many households and small to medium businesses this would be totally unacceptable. Where and with whom does that buck stop?
In a 2012 research paper by the US National Regulatory Research Institute entitled 'Should public utilities compensate customers for service interruptions?' the author cited a situation in Connecticut where the state's power company was unprepared to deal with the aftermath of a storm that cut power to over 800,000 people in 2011. Since accountability lies at the heart of good regulation, the lawmakers in Connecticut passed legislation to enhance the restoration and management of service in an outage and impose fines on power companies that fall short of performance standards. What's stopping our lawmakers from doing this?
In New York, electrical companies are required to give dry ice to customers during an outage. This mitigates the chance of food and medicine spoilage, compensation for which is guarantee
