BELCO: Declining Sales, Salary Freeze & More
BELCO announced today [Dec 17] that it applied to the Energy Commission to defer a previously approved 1.5% average increase in electricity rates, which would have been effective January 1, 2011.
BELCO says “The proposed electricity rate increase deferral is a corporate effort by BELCO to assist its customers, as the Bermuda community experiences difficult effects of the economic downturn.”
Indicative of the slow economy, BELCO announced that it too is “experiencing declining sales.” BELCO met with employees today and told them in order to delay immediate workforce redundancies, BELCO has implemented a freeze on salary increases in 2011. BELCO is similarly seeking to negotiate a wage increase freeze for its unionized employees, saying it is “an effort to delay other cost-containment measures, including temporary lay-offs, redundancies and outsourcing.”
BELCO also announced that a re-organization will take place in 2011, as BELCO management seek to reduce operating costs by changes to working arrangements and benefits.
BELCO President, Andrew Parsons said, “The next several months will require difficult decisions, as BELCO manages down costs to enable long term operating benefits. Redundancy is not something BELCO wants to do, but it will be effected when required with a focus on the overall value of positions to BELCO’s operation with a view of cost reductions.”
Decline in sales? In what area? It certainly isn’t electricity.
lol! yeah are people lighting candles instead of using BELCO?
You beat me to it. My bills have gone up 25% over the last year, mostly attributed the that fuel surcharge. And I know I haven;t changed the amount of power that I consume.
Do you really think all the apartments, houses being vacated by expats leaving the island have someone waiting on the doorstep rushing to get in? Please.
So true. Look around any evening & see how many houses & apartments are in darkness. How many empty offices are there in Hamilton? Look at how many hotel rooms are in darkness next time you drive past the SP.
Too many people cannot see past the realms of their own little worlds.
BELCO are telling LIES!!
Bermuda has the MOST EXPENSIVE Electricity in the World!!
It’s also the most expensive to produce.
As my grandparents use to tell me, it’s not what you make, it’s what you save.
Well paid staff, expensive machines, and fuel are the main expensises. Customers only pay the excess over a base rate of the fuel. Belco does not profit from the fuel adjustments, it’s only the cost of fuel passed onto it’s customers.
“Call as it is says”: The article and comments say nothing about the cost of electricity – it says SALES are down. Less electricity was sold this year – measure in kWh – than last.