The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is moving to investigate reports that several large supermarkets may have been tampering with their electricity supply to evade full payment for power.
Minister of Public Utilities Melford Nicholas told Cabinet that his ministry received credible information indicating that some commercial entities have allegedly installed illegal bypass systems to draw electricity directly from the national grid.
Nicholas described the alleged practice as a serious fraud against the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) and, by extension, the people of Antigua and Barbuda.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne warned that offenders will face legal consequences.
“If they get caught twice, police will have to be called in,” Browne said.
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Tiefing electricity is an aged old thing. Businesses and residential customers alike have all used less than honourable ways to avoid paying correctly for electricity charges. APUA must look to move to smart meters as many countries have done. They are designed to be tamper proof, incorporating features like encryption and internal sensors to detect and report any attempts to tamper with them. APUA’s old electromechanical meters are vulnerable and would always be tampered with by electricians working on behalf of Businesses and residential customers.
mmmmm lemme just drink my water and mind my business because private homes doing the same thingggggg.
They to thief, everything is bobul, lawd
Even when they get concessions from the government, they still steal electricity. So they want to come to our country, open their big supermarket, and pay nothing? The government is too lenient with these outside investors. Yes, we want the investment, but not when we lose too much to these thieves. The PM needs to investigate these hotels, too. It is not friends and company with these people, it is about the country first. Mr PM, you and your ministers were hired to take care of the country’s affairs for the people. If you can’t do the job, please return it to us, and we will find someone who can do it!!
Why wait until it happens twice to call police ? Shouldn’t they be held accountable on the first instance?
Bet if it was a case of an ordinary citizen who was caught doing it the first time they would be held accountable.
Why not prosecute for the first offense?
When children come and snitch on one another do not brush it away and think of it as nonsense. These corrupt practices have to do with the engineers at APUA. John Beaulieu the previous owner of Epicurean and Wood Centre, had corrupted many in Antigua and Barbuda. Even in the police force. Do you remember when Sir Robin mentioned in parliament that Trevor Walker took the brown envellope from John Beaulieu at Trade Winds. That is where he lived. At one point his long time concubine Didi was kidnaped. It was the biggest kidnapping that ever happened in Antigua. And she was held in a cottage at Browns Bay Villas. Beauliue had corruopted the engineers at APUA so much that he didn’t pay the right electricity consumption on any of his properties. Which at one point included the Old French Quarter Restaurant. Therefore I’m not surprise if the entire Woods Cenrtre or the new Epicurean electricity consumptions are inacurate, because APUA has facilitated the bypass of the meter. They also do the bypass of the Water Meter. This I know first hand from my friend who used to live in Marble Hill. When he build a swimming pool his friends at APUA water division run a direct line for him bypassing the meter to fill his pool. I keep saying corruption in Antigua is not with the politicians. It is with the public servants and the lower ranked employee, who think they can earn a buck or two on the side. Thank God that Allen Stanford wanted nothing to do with this kind of corruption. Because the monies he used to pay in utilities are staggering. And no business could sustain operation if they did not have deep pockets. One should know that electircity cost is the business breaker in Antigua and I have written once already about that. We need to rethink the business rates for electricity and water. Especially during the month of December when we want businesses to light up their place and with that the entire town. When you fly over St. John’s at night the city really looks like a little village with some lighting. When approaching a City like Port of Spain you notice the difference. And not to mention when approaching a city in the developed countries. Entirely lite.
Anyway, I don’t think you can penalize any of the present owners for things that existed before they bought or took over the business. We need to do many consumption audits in this country. And then compair to see why one buisiness utility bills are cheaper than another.
Dem a do the same thing like you. Practicing creative self enrichment.
A while back is you Gaston that told your cabinet staff must practice creative enrichment. Well look ya. All ah we a do the same ting. What good for you and your cabinet staff hafa good for us.
Look how you have plenty money and property on your salary by practicising creative enrichement. You set the example and since you rich, we a do the same.
@ Less we Forget…You sounded good until this “Thank God that Allen Stanford wanted nothing to do with this kind of corruption.”
His corruption was even bigger so I see your point.
#Kaiso_Thyme
…When all of these PROBES 🥢🥢🥢are done!
Jamming! Whailing! Probing!
…by the Prime Minister Gaston Browne!
…there should be no more, cancers around
…spreading like wild fire around the town!
…we’d have found the cure, for each and every one!
…and, even though; I’m a man of faith
…I must admit; this will not be our fate
…since, most of these cancers would have metastasized.
…as many innocent victims!
…in particular, the unsuspecting!
…would’ve already keeled over!
…unlike those trick out land rovers
…dropped tiff tone dead; and, died!
…all of a sudden, #PROBES🥢🥢🥢 have become very trendy!
Trendy! Trending! Trendy!
…but, it’s a SCAM; according to grannie
…’tis nothing more, than to hide their money
…so, less we forget! Please don’t forget.
…these Mega Supermarkets,
…are political mega donors!
…then no probe, drone, or modern radars
…will emphasize, much less highlight
…what has and will always be, the poor man’s plight.
…I don’t know about many of you!
…but, many swear these allegations, of shenanigans are so true!
…and, let’s be honest!
…like the fallen tree, in the forest!
…ain’t a damn thing! Not a thing!
Not one thing! Much less two?
…that, anyone of you gonna do!
…so, guarne tek dat!
…every and any body! Will get flap!
Dem flap! You flap! Ah Gaston say dat!
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏿Garrat_Bastard
Vere Edwards
Antiguan’s are dumb.
It cannot be investment if they the companies are not paying their fair Share, duh!
It’s called robbery, plain and simple.
Gatson has not protect the peoples money, and he should sacked. Plain and simple. All these money that was supposed to be collected are just missing..who is to blame for that?
Antiguan’s are just dumb, and @less we forget is the biggest idiot.
These are considered underhand arrangements, so somebody in APUA electricity department, possibly a linesman or two, plus someone higher-up getting big money from these supermarkets.
Withholding tax contributions is part and parcel of the enrichment scheme. In six days we have been informed of more corruption in government than the total reported corruption in Antigua and Barbuda for the past five years and the revelations are directly from members of the Cabinet who seem to be totally complicit in all that they reported.
it should be a matter of first choice to chase all those baldheads out of town.
Imagine poor families struggling to top up $50 every week and these supermarkets running entire buildings on stolen current. Jail them straight!
Never a dull moment in ANU.
Don’t worry (insert supermarket owner here), Neo Hitler has given you an out. You will only be at risk if you get caught TWICE Tief King openly providing cover for the local oligarchs.
You can’t do that! You can’t do that! Just tip toe around these white and Syrian people in those sought of enclave that is off limit to the ordinary Antiguan, the politicians will cut those workers at APUA , oops I mean there employment benefits and upward mobility in the company if they try to correct any of these ills committed by these bourgeois.
A time ago a right hand man of the late Lester bird had his meter in his yard and only the gardener should bring the reading to the APUA meter reader or else he brandish his gun and fire shots and workers run leave the company vehicle, then at his sugar mill hotel that was disconnected ostensibly for tampering , the same Lester as prime minister used a private golf tournament as part of tourism to wave the fees and reconnected it, the minister that was caught up in the medical benefit scandal that is now a board member of west indies oil company threatened an APUA employee with his big boat phone at his ears calling top management at APUA, at the same time shouting you tired work, you don’t have no authority to cut off the ambassador, that worker suffered throughout the years from directives handed down to supervisory staff in the APUA by that politician perpetually.
If you know the customer service them same bourgeoisie class get out a APUA, sometimes they call and report a crooked shape of a wire on the pole blocking a star at night, and we are promptly dispatch to remedy it with aesthetic, and on the other hand wires are dangling on roofs in grays farm and other local community around the island.
But the cost of doing business from the Caribbean to Africa us prohibitive because we are never going to think nuclear power or geothermal, our engineers and the government are driven by these paternalistic organizations to get solar, that will only realize 30% of its benefit due to the dynamics in weather at that large investment and maintenance that is required.
The Caribbean and Africa is carefully manage by these hegemonies because they don’t want us to have nuclear capabilities like them in war, our educational curriculum is colonized for service driven orientation, and as soon as we have a outstanding academic capable of nuclear physics they are taken up by these countries and given citizenship to keep us undeveloped and brain drain. The engineers we have now some are just as qualified as sales man to point to purchasing American products , APUA need a total overhaul, where engineers do work and not celebrated CEO and supervisor play a logistical role and not a quasi CEO oppressing workers who wants better for the company.
Good workers in APUA want to tackle the ills but would be cut down by the same politicians
In other country where it’s the DCA responsible for utility inspection, they have to be on-site to see the electricity main conduit before it is covered or lagged in the wall and also the water mains, so they are proactive at tamper prevention from the start.
This Prime Minister is something else, he like when parents spoil them pikney, you have to do something twice before you get punished, that is encouraging slackness and this is supposed to be good governance. Just what have we come to in Antigua. Now that the Unfaithful ones and Licksplittlers no this look ah trouble
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