Public Utilities Commission opens branch in Berbice

Berbice : In a bid to reach out to consumers across Guyana in fulfilling its mandate, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Monday officially opened a new office at Port Mourant, Region Six.
This new facility will see the region’s residents having access to the commission, to represent their legal and fundamental rights to have efficient and quality services being offered by utilities’ providers, namely telecommunications, electricity and water.                   The functions of the commission are regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement among others as conferred on it by the act. The commission also has the power to initiate and conduct investigations into the operations and standards of service of any public utilities under its purview.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who had the opportunity to officially declare the new facility open, lauded the commission for a job well done, in representing the rights of Guyanese consumers.  “This facility is another example of our work to further integrate all the services in our country, so that all consumers can have access to quality and efficient services, whether it is telecommunication and energy services,” Prime Minister Hinds said.
The services being offered in the utilities’ sector, Prime Minister Hinds said, have been improving over the years as the work of the commission continues to be intensified across the country. However, while services have been getting better, there has been a concomitant demand from consumers also calling for a greater level of service.
The PUC, he said, does not only have the mandate of protecting the rights of consumers, but also ensuring that rates set out by the commission allow investors and companies to receive a  favourable and fair return of profit to supply services to consumers.
Against this background, the prime minister urged that consumers be more responsible in paying their dues for the services they receive from various utility companies, including the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), as this will also create a competitive environment.
“If we are to build and have a society that works well, we have to work to resolve these contradictions and reconcile them so that we can maintain harmony in society,” Prime Minister Hinds said.
While elaborating on the vision of Guyana’s former President Dr Cheddi Jagan to privatise the electricity sector, he said, that vision then was to have shares in the utility company being taken up by consumers themselves, which would have a great lesson for being responsible.“So on one hand they would be an owner looking to get maximum return from their investments and the other hand a consumer,” he explained.
He also used the opportunity to welcome the idea of the commission expanding its services to other parts of the country, including in Essequibo.
PUC Chairman Prem Persaud said that the commission’s mandate of reaching to consumers has seen a countrywide campaign, making the public more aware of their rights and responsibilities. He elaborated on various activities of the PUC to protect and safeguard the right of consumers, which includes setting utility rates for companies.
“As a result of the work of the commission, a lot of persons are now able to afford services being offered, including land telephones and cellular services… in 2011, land consumers spoke for 1,199,587,633 minutes all because the rates are now affordable,” Persaud said. The PUC is a constituted body which was formed in 1999 after the passing of the PUC act.