Dear Editor,
I would like to draw attention to the current upgrades been conducted by GPL in the communities of Buxton and Friendship. The residents of Buxton Side Line have requested to have a 110-volt electricity supply for more than five years now. We were instructed by a senior staff member of GPL to submit a petition signed by all the residents, which was done. After upgrades being undertaken at the time, were completed, we received a new transformer and lines to deliver a better flow of electricity but the 110-volt supply was not provided. We were told that the company couldn’t facilitate it at that time but when there is another upgrade, we will receive the 110-volt supply. After constants follow-ups, I was told by staff members that residents would incur too much additional costs to have their homes rewired. These upgrades were done under the previous government and we were subsequently promised that when a new upgrade is done, we will be provided with the 110-volt electricity supply.
The new upgrades have begun and Buxton-Friendship is yet to receive the promised 110-volt supply. We are told about the cost residents will incur to rewire their homes yet again but with the new upgrades, everyone is expected to make changes to the system to facilitate these improvements. The cost to change the system is well worth it because resident already incur high additional costs of purchasing transformers and stabilizers. For example, most, if not all of our appliances are 110 volts, and every home needs to acquire transformer/s or stabilizer/s to power them. With each additional transformer or stabilizer, comes higher electricity consumption. Some homes have up to five and residents even incur additional costs in having to repair or replace them due to frequent power outages that damage them. We are also told by GPL staff that they are only providing 110 volts supply to new housing schemes but that is not true as many surrounding communities such as Lusignan, Annandale, Vigilance and Strathspey have access to a 110-volt supply. There communities are not new communities.
It is understandable that during the period of the high crime rate, GPL staff were afraid of visiting the villages of Buxton, and Friendship to some extent, and their environs, to read the meters, so, as a result, residents received estimated bills. This period saw the bills going from floor to ceiling in some cases. As I can recall, my grandmother’s actual consumption jumped from $587 to a dramatic $1,547, which resulted in her bill going from under $100,000 to over $500,000 in a short period.
At the time, my grandmother only had one television, a small refrigerator and three bulbs that consumed electricity. This was the case for most residents in Buxton-Friendship and some residents’ bills went up to millions of dollars. Some residents made payments but others chose not to because they stated that they never consumed such high amounts. Others were willing to pay but couldn’t afford to do so.
Residents, for many years, have petitioned GPL in an effort to come to an equitable solution. It has since been a constant back-and-forth between the power company and the residents. However, it was promised to the residents by then President Bharrat Jagdeo and the power company, in a meeting held around the commissioning of Tipperary Hall, to write-off the bills. This promise was not fulfilled but credible sources have stated that neighbouring communities have had their bills completely written-off. The power company is still to resolve the matter but has been keeping constant meetings in the community.
It is the intention of residents to pay their GPL bills but they strongly believe that they should not be held responsible for occurrences that may have resulted in, or contributed to them receiving estimated bills. So I speak for the masses when I say that the residents are expecting what was promised, which is a complete write-off of those past bills. We also believe that we should be given the 110-volt electricity supply as was promised as it will be much more beneficial to us. It is my belief that an upgrade is not really an upgrade until it is properly and completely done.
Yours faithfully,
Jermaine Cockfield
