Bon Accord woman tells RIC: Poor people struggling

A Bon Accord resident has urged the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) to revisit its plan to increase electricity rates for residential and commercial customers.

Lucille George-Percy claimed many Tobagonians are already struggling to make ends meet and an increase in their electricity bill would create more poverty in communities.

She was speaking on Monday during the open forum of the RIC’s electricity transmission and distribution determination price control review at the Canaan/Bon Accord Multipurpose Facility. It was the RIC’s third public consultation.

Questioning the timing of the proposed increases, George-Percy asked RIC chairman Dawn Callender and executive director Glenn Khan, “I want to know whether Dr Rowley (Prime Minister) or the Public Utilities Minister (Marvin Gonzales) is pushing this thing?”

She described as unconscionable the decision to increase utility rates when many people have not received salary increases in years.

“When last we get a raise of pay? Tell me. We got raise of pay in 2014. Here what raise: T&TEC raise dey price, Digicel gone up, they coming with land (property) tax to go up. And all of that will be coming to us.”

George-Percy added, “What happen to the poor man? What is left in our pockets for food. That is what we have to consider.”

She said the RIC, instead of placing an additional financial burden on ordinary citizens, should have focused its attention on the Government.

“You want to increase the capacity of what you have for electricity, the Government owing T&TEC millions of dollars, why allyuh not coming down on the Government?”