BL&P’s call

THE CANADIAN OWNER of BARBADOS LIGHT & POWER (BL&P) says it wants another40-year licence from Government or it will not build a plannednew generating plant. But Emera Inc insists that it is not playing hardball.
Sarah MacDonald, who oversees the energy firm’s Caribbean operations, made the disclosure in an interview with the SUNDAY SUN on Friday. She revealed that while the company’s licence expired in 2028, the level of investment that the company wanted to make required it to be assured of its place in the Barbados market for at least another 25 to 30 years. She did not disclose the sum of money involved.
“Right now our franchise expires in 15 years and because of the time it takes to earn back the investment – an investment like this which is often much longer, say 25 or 30 years, we need to make sure that we have got our . . . franchise or licence established,”  the president of Emera Caribbean said.
“Otherwise you areinvesting money without knowing that you have the ability to earn on it back after the franchise expires.”