BL&P to make sizeable donation to Welfare Department

THE Barbados Light and Power Company Limited (BL&P) will be making a contribution of $100,000 to the Welfare Department.

Word of this has come from Managing Director of the utility company, Roger Blackman. In a release sent to the media on Thursday night, Blackman said this is being done, so that the government entity can increase its assistance to families who are in need during this period. Additionally, he spoke of the effort by the utility to assist its customers who may find it difficult to make payments.

“We recognise that some of our most vulnerable in society will experience the greatest impact during this pandemic period,” the managing director noted.

He continued, “It is quite reasonable to think that there will be others, not on welfare, but experiencing challenges with making their payments, and such persons can call us directly to discuss a payment plan that can result in some financial ease.”

In the release, he also noted that with the Government of Barbados rolling things forward with its National Preparedness Plan, the Barbados Light and Power has implemented a pandemic response plan of their own and will be making some changes to the way they operate. This, Blackman indicated, is in a bid to keep their workers and the rest of our citizens safe, as they continue to provide their essential service across the length and breadth of our island.

The Managing Director of the island’s sole power provider said that they made the decision to close their customer service office at the Garrison on March 24, with most of the office-based staff working from home. He said their team is fully equipped to manage customer inquiries and persons can contact them by phone or e-mail.

Calling it an unprecedented time in our island’s history, he said they have also reduced the number of teams in the field in a bid to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and have whittled down the size of the distribution crews to allow for effective social distancing among colleagues. The release went on to state that they were in the process of completing a system that allowed for remote reading of meters, and that initiative is about 80 per cent complete.

It was also pointed out that there are further steps that can be taken, in the event there is a further escalation of the pandemic in Barbados.

“With escalation, we will schedule crews on a rotation basis, but have resources available to us as needed, suspend routine maintenance and operate with reduced capacity, but maintain our 24-hour response system, and respond to emergency and safety-related situations,” he stated.

Blackman went on to say that their power generation capabilities were not compromised and would be supported virtually where necessary. Additionally, he stated that the company was in discussion with the Barbados National Oil Company on fuel hedging, which could bring competitive pricing and stability to the fuel portion of customer bills.

Before signing off, Blackman urged all Barbadians to stay safe and to be their brother’s keeper in these difficult times. (MP)