The Anguilla Electricity Company Limited (ANGLEC) CEO, Mr Sutcliffe Hodge, has reacted to statements made in the Anguilla House of Assembly (HOA) by the Honourable Premier, Dr Ellis Webster, and Honourable Minister, Mr Haydn Hughes, on Tuesday, September 6.
Mr Hodge says that it is unfortunate that the government and its operatives continue to go back and forth with respect to issues about ANGLEC.
He said: “I respect the role that is being performed by our Ministers of Government. I have no experience running a country or Government’s Ministries, but I know about running utility operations.I ran Cable and Wireless for seventeen years, and before that I worked in technical fields in the United States of America. I have found that there are many similarities between running telecommunications and a utility like electricity.
“I listened to issues being raised and spoken about by Minister Hughes, during the House of Assembly meeting on Tuesday, and he was right when he said there is no need for animosity, or to be political, but the only persons who are bringing politics into the discussion about ANGLEC are the Ministers themselves.
“What is needed is for us to do what is best for ANGLEC – a company that is owned by 1,103 shareholders. We also need to do what is best for ANGLEC’s customers, the business community, and the people of Anguilla as a whole.”
Mr Hodge voiced concern that Mr Hughes might not be familiar with the Electricity Act and Regulations. He noted: “Mr Hughes said that what needs to be regulated is the fuel surcharge. He is clearly not familiar with the section of the Electricity Act and the Regulations that speak to the mechanism by which the fuel surcharge comes about. That section of the Act indicates that the fuel surcharge is self-regulating in that there is a stated formula for determining it. The formula simply states that for any cost amount that is over the base rate for fuel, there is a charge that should be passed on to the consumer as the fuel surcharge.
“In the BVI, for example, the fuel surcharge is calculated every time there is a change in the cost of the supply of fuel. As a result, the fuel surcharge may change from month to month based on the average price of fuel for the month. We could institute that same mechanism here in Anguilla since it is provided for in the Legislation.
“I would suggest that the Minister takes some time out to review that section of the Electricity Act so that he is not on radio or in the HOA espousing ‘stuff’ that is not factual. The facts are the facts, and should you need some help accessing them, we at ANGLEC would be happy to make that available to you, for clarity, so there is no misunderstanding as to how the fuel surcharge works. It does not need to be regulated; it just needs to be applied.
“ANGLEC, using caring and sensitive judgment, recognises that the economy and the people of Anguilla can only bear so much. Hence the reason why ANGLEC is strategically collecting all debts owing, so it can work with the people of Anguilla to get through this difficult period of economic distress brought on by high fuel prices, without having to implement the full fuel surcharge.”
Mr Hodge also spoke out about comments made by the Honourable Premier, Dr Ellis Webster, at the HOA meeting.
Mr Hodge noted that the Premier “continues to try to ram the notion of a power-purchase agreement down the throat of Anguillians, saying that it is the fastest way to ensure that we have renewable energy integration in Anguilla.”
Mr Hodge stated that “in 1985, I bought a compact laptop computer in the US for $3,500.00 and brought it to Anguilla. Coincidentally, I sold it to one of Dr Webster’s brothers when I left Anguilla two weeks later to return to the US.
“Today, the computing power of my $400.00 cell phone is probably 10 or 15 times more than that of the laptop purchased in 1985. I am saying that to highlight the point that what is happening with renewable energy technology today is quite similar. It is becoming more and more integrated. The technology deployed continues to change and evolve, and the cost continues to decline.
“I am of the view, Mr Premier, that not long from now, we will be able to buy windows which are photovoltaic. We will be putting tiles on the roofs of our houses that will be providing electricity, and we will be able to paint our vehicles with material capable of producing energy to power and drive them.”
He continued: “But, for the sake of discussion, let’s say that we go ahead and enter into a power-purchase agreement and commit to buying the said electricity at US$0.20/kilowatt hour on a 20-year contract. We are stuck paying US$0.20/kilowatt hour for the life of that contract.
“Meanwhile, if you purchase the wind farms and solar farms out right, you own them, and in five to ten years from now when the technology changes, and it costs significantly less to generate electricity, you can dispose of the old technology and roll out the new technology thereby allowing consumers to benefit from a significant reduction in the cost of their electricity.
“The newer and more efficient technologies would be by far more integrated and significantly cheaper than what you started out with. You can then get to a stage where you can say you have recovered your initial investment. It is now sunk cost, so you break down the wind turbines and rip out the solar panels and dispose of them to make way for the newest technology that is by far more efficient, more effective, and less expensive for consumers.
“When you have a twenty-year power-purchase agreement, the person or company that is supplying you with that power will also break down the wind turbines, and rip out the solar panels and dispose of them and bring in the new technology, but will continue to charge you the same US$0.20/kilowatt hour because that is the contractual arrangement. Do we really want to do that, Mr Premier?
“Let us own the technology, Mr Premier, so that, as it changes and evolves and becomes less expensive, our consumers can benefit from the savings.”
Mr Hodge ended his remarks by commenting on his time as an IT Programmer some years ago:
“When I started, I used to work on an IBM 370-135 mainframe computer which cost millions of dollars. About five years later, I worked on an IBM 3033 mainframe computer and helped to push the 370-135 computer outside the building and into the recycling bin because it was replaced by the newer and more advanced technology. The newer machine was more compact, less costly, used less power but had enormous computing capacity compared to the one just five years earlier.
“Today, what was being processed on a million-dollar IBM 3033 mainframe computer can now be processed on a cell phone costing a few hundred dollars. That is how technology changes and evolves. The same thing is happening with renewable energy technologies.
“Mr Premier, this is my area of expertise. Give it a chance. Give me a chance to deliver for ANGLEC and for the people of Anguilla in a meaningful way. Give the people of Anguilla a chance. I really do solicit your support and the support of the other Ministers of Government.”
