Bahamas group in N.S. for lawsuit against Emera
Two men from the Bahamas are hoping Nova Scotians can help in their fight against rising power rates.
Troy Garvey and Jonathan Glinton are in Halifax to gather evidence in a lawsuit they're planning against Emera, Nova Scotia Power's parent company.
Emera owns 80 per cent of Grand Bahama Power, which has a monopoly on the supply of power to the Caribbean country. All power is generated by bunker C oil.
Garvey and Glinton say power rates have skyrocketed since Emera took over two years ago.
Glinton said his electricity used to cost $70 a month, but now it's up to $200 or $300. He said some bills are even higher.
"People come to us and complain that their power bill has now exceeded their mortgage payments," said Glinton, a member of Operation Justice Bahamas.
On its website, Grand Bahama Power says high electricity bills are due to rising fuel costs and the rental of backup diesel units to improve reliability during the past summer, when heavy air conditioning use led to almost daily blackouts.
The company plans to build an $80-million generating station that would run on diesel and be more reliable.
But it would only cost between $3 million and $4 million to refurbish the current plant, said Garvey, president of Operation Justice Bahamas.
"We're trying to find out what is going on," he said.
The lawsuit will come out of a consumer complaint that the group plans to file under the Grand Bahamas Consumer Protection Act on Nov. 16. The group also wants to ask for a judicial inquiry into power rates and overbilling.
Garvey and Glinton say they've been talking to Nova Scotia politicians, media and citizens about the situation in the province. They plan to compile that information into a summary report.
Neither Emera nor Grand Bahama Power is commenting on the group's complaints right now.
