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By Adrian Odle.
Across St. Vincent and the Grenadines, working people are being squeezed like a packed van, from every direction. The recent increase in electricity charges come at the worst possible time. Poor people and the working class are already struggling with food prices, rent, and the increased cost of fuel at the pump. Now, the electricity bill “pressuring we mo”.
This is not an attack on the workers of VINLEC. They are Vincentians to (a majority of them working class like the readers of this article) and many of them are experiencing the same rising cost of living. This is a demand for the company’s leadership, shareholders and policymakers to recognise that electricity is not a luxury. It is an essential service upon which every home, school and business depends upon in this country,
When fuel prices increase, the effects spread throughout the entire economy. Transportation costs rise. Fisherfolk and farmers pay more to operate. Businesses pay more to move goods. Minibus operators and private motorists feel the pressure. These additional costs are eventually passed on to consumers.
When electricity charges rise at the same time, the ordinary Vincentian is hit twice.
Vincentian parents must now decide how to divide an already limited income among groceries, electricity, transportation, rent or mortgage, school expenses and medical needs. Pensioners and low-income households are being asked to stretch money that cannot stretch any further. Small businesses are also affected because higher electricity bills increase operating expenses and make it more difficult to retain workers, maintain reasonable prices and remain profitable. Everybody “bawling”.
VINLEC cannot operate as though its only responsibility is to protect its profits and satisfy its shareholders. A public utility has a wider social obligation. It must also operate in the interests of the Vincentian people and for the Vincentian people. VINLEC must remember the working class and the poor.
Profitability is important. VINLEC must maintain its infrastructure, pay its workers and provide a reliable electricity supply, which they are doing a good job at. However, profitability cannot be pursued without regard for the social and economic circumstances of the population. A company providing an essential public service must balance financial sustainability with compassion, fairness and national responsibility.
VINLEC should immediately explore alternative measures to ease the burden on “poor peopluh”.
There should be a review of the new charges and a clear public explanation of how they were calculated. Vincentians deserve transparency. People should be able to understand what they are paying, why they are paying it and what steps are being taken to prevent further increases.
VINLEC should consider introducing or expanding a lifeline electricity rate for the many low-income households, pensioners, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable consumers. The company should also provide reasonable payment arrangements and avoid disconnecting struggling households without first offering them a genuine opportunity to settle their accounts.
A tiered billing system will ease the Vincentians that are struggling. VINLEC should ensure that households using modest amounts of electricity for basic needs are protected. Families simply trying to keep on a refrigerator, a few lights and a fan should be given an ease (within reason).
VINLEC must also accelerate investment in renewable energy. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has access to sunlight, wind, hydroelectric resources and geothermal potential. Our dependence on imported fuel is destroying us. Renewable energy cannot remain something we discuss at conferences while “poor peopluh” continue to receive increasingly unaffordable electricity bills.
The Government and VINLEC should also create accessible programmes to help ordinary households install solar panels, solar water heaters and energy-efficient appliances. These programmes must not be designed only for wealthy homeowners ( “up dey peopluh” ) and large businesses. Low- and middle-income Vincentians must also be able to participate through grants, affordable financing and payment plans.
There should also be greater scrutiny of dividends, executive expenditure and non-essential spending during periods when consumers are being asked to bear additional costs. If Vincentians are expected to make sacrifices, then the company and its shareholders must show that they are also prepared to make sacrifices.
We are not asking for electricity to be provided free of charge.We are asking for fairness. We are asking for understanding. We are asking those in authority to recognise that salaries have not increased at the same rate as the cost of survival.
VINLEC must remember that it exists because of the Vincentian people.
The working-class people of this country should not be treated merely as customers to suck money from.
“Stop Kill arwe”.
END
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