The Barbados Light and Power Company has given its side of the story in which a St. John farmer lost 30,000 chickens after the electricity was cut at his poultry farm.
In a statement issued this afternoon, Customer Care Manager, Rodney Dottin says the company is aware of a customer who was disconnected, in line with its standard policy and contractual obligations.
Dottin adds that service to the customer has since been restored, and that the death of the animals and the impact this has had on this customer is indeed unfortunate.
He says the company did not know that there was a commercial operation at the location, far less a livestock farm.
The Light and Power official adds that the company cannot discuss this particular case in detail, due to its privacy policies, which are intended to protect customers.
However, the company also says it is not its normal practice to disconnect customers who are registered as farms without exhausting available options.
Dottin adds that disconnecting a customer for non-payment is always the absolute last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.
He says in addition to providing customers with adequate notice and warnings on their bill before the final step of disconnection takes place, their customer care team continues to work closely with customers experiencing difficulties.
He says one of the ways they do this is by offering payment options to help customers to get caught up on their arrears.
The company used the opportunity to encourage any customer who is having trouble keeping up with their account to call 626-4300 so they can work with them to avoid interruption of service.
Since the death of the chickens, the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association and other concerned entities have signalled their intention to assist the St. John farmer with recovering from his losses.
About The Author
More Stories
Smooth driving on Broad Street soon
Fire on ABC Highway
Anglican Church resuming ‘common cup’ communion