Ministry refutes water firm’s gripes
(CNS Business): Complaints from Cayman’s private sector water supplier over new legislation designed to properly regulate all utilities on the islands have been address by the planning minister in a very long detailed letter. Consolidated Water Cayman had written to the ministry that has responsibility for water and other utilities complaining that it had not been consulted and that the Utility Regulation and Competition (URC) Bill, created to oversee the utilities sector, including fuel, power, telecommunications and water, should be re-written as there are umpteen things wrong with it.
Not surprisingly, as a private company CWC raised a catalogue of objections to the increase in oversight and regulation, implying that the law leaves the firm at the mercy of a government board and objects to the change in the way the firm will be regulated and watched to ensure that it provides safe and clean water, fulfils its licensing obligations and offers value for money to the customers it serves.
The firm has raised objections to the entire legislation that relates to its industry and has asked the government to withdraw it and go back to the drawing board. It complained about the lack of consultation, the delay in amendments to the specific existing legislation relating to water, the lack of water experts at the new oversight office, more onerous requirements, the fines and the power the office will have to impose conditions on the entities it regulates.
The government has said that the three-week public consultation period on all legislation provides the window of opportunity for anyone impacted by new legislation to comment.
Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts defended much of the law in its lengthy and detailed response, but stated that some of the issues raised would be reviewed. But re-writing the legislation, which has been broadly welcomed by the public who believe it will begin to address exploitation by monopoly utility providers, is not on the agenda.
Tibbetts said he believes that in “establishing the Office and embarking on the programme of regulatory reform, the regulatory arrangements should reflect current best international practices, provide for increased transparency and heightened responsiveness to all stakeholders”.
Category: Uncategorized
