Were the current Barbados Light & Power (BL&P) rate application before the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) a purely public relations exercise, the company would likely not get a one per cent increase, far less the near 12 per cent it is seeking.The BL&P, for most of its 111 years of operation on the island, has enjoyed a stellar image as a corporate entity. Citizens held the company in high regard. It was known as a responsive utility, where complaints were addressed promptly, and its electricity services were extremely reliable.Important also was the perception that BL&P was one of the island’s best employers, where the pay was great, and employee turnover was unheard of. Many of these aspects of the company’s existence may still be true, but in recent years, it is difficult to deny that BL&P has fallen from the pinnacle it held.Yes, there have been applications for rate increases before in which the company stridently defended its requests and objectors were equally passionate in their rejection of those demands.However, something has changed. The public complaints have increased, and the dissatisfaction levels are going in the wrong direction for the utility company.It may be linked to the fact that only a sprinkling of Barbadians still own a stake in the company post the Emera takeover. The Canadian owners of BL&P will naturally be in an ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of Barbadians suspicious of a foreign corporate takeover of a highly prized local asset.
