I think it is an unfair criticism being leveled against Minister Paulwell in regards to his proposal to allow persons who steal electricity to pay a flat rate for a period of time and then bring them up to standards. Yes, I admit, it is not the best proposal and those of us who have to pay between $5,000 - $10,000 monthly have all rights to react strongly against such proposal but then again, we have to think about a number of things. 1. Those who pay for electricity have to foot the cost for those who dont. 2. When those who steal electricity start paying a flat rate, there is less pressure on our pockets. 2. To pay a flat rate might be seen as a signal of entitlement but I say it is a humanitarian approach to solving the issues plaguing us. 3. Those of us who are in the middle class of society sometimes seemingly forget how harsh those in the lower strata of society have to live under the touch economic conditions which plague our society. JPS CEO Kelly Tomblin has said that other measures to bring in those who steal electricity to the table of paying for electricity has been exhausted. She further said that there is only one remaining measure; the most draconian of all and that is it to shut off electricity in troubled communities. We certainly cannot afford to move in this direction so while EWI has been granted a license to add more energy to the national power grid to bring down the cost of electricity, lets remember that as a society we have a humanitarian approach to play as a government especially towards the most vulnerable in our society.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:21:22 +0000
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