Professional fees paid by the Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) skyrocketed from less than $50 000 in 2015 to almost $500 000 last year.The revelation came from BLPC Managing Director Roger Blackman as he was cross-examined on Wednesday by intervenor Ricky Went when the utility company’s rate increase hearing before the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) entered day six.However, when asked to explain the massive increase, Blackman told the Commission the company’s Director of Finance Ricaido Jennings would be better placed to provide that answer.Went had been seeking to reconcile the performance of the company’s investment income against the payout of professional fees.“Why was that investment fund all along $2.3 million in 2015 and jumped to $8 million?“What I am seeing is we are paying more for the professional fees but we are getting less value on the investment income,” he suggested to Blackman.The witness responded by pointing out that professional fees were not only paid to the investment manager.
