The Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) spent some $19 million over a two-year period to replace components of a steam turbine generating plant that it had planned to retire following the last electricity rate hike in 2010.Instead, the BLPC has extended the life of the plant until 2023, but repurposed one of its two power-generating units to house spare parts.“I believe it is S2...is not actively generating [electricity] right now. S1 is. But the unit S2 is used as spares for S1,”Director of Finance at the company Ricaido Jennings testified on Thursday before the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) on day 7 of the hearing that’s reviewing a request for a rate increase.The information was made public as intervenor and accountant David Simpson - who has teamed up with attorney-at-law Tricia Watson - cross-examined Jennings.“What would have happened and the accounting treatment that would have happened there, is that these investments would have been included in the cost of the plant and the retirals would have been taken out of the cost of the plant as well,” the finance chief stated.
