Dear Editor,
And so the saga continues and, of course it makes no sense at all and no answers are forthcoming from GEBE. I received my bill for the first 30 days of service (do I even dare use that term in regard to this company?) after they did the “screw the solar client” meter change.
During that period, in broad strokes numbers, I produced roughly 2400 KWH of electricity that went straight into GEBE’s grid and during that same period, again in round numbers, my consumption was roughly half of that at 1200 KWH give or take. The production numbers I have down to the decimal point but the consumption numbers are based on raw data from known consumptions based on direct readings from their meter.
So…seems simple enough. I gave them somewhere around US $500 worth of electricity for free that they then sold to you and stuck the money in their pocket. But the bill was strange. It was for zero dollars and reflected zero consumption for that period, even though that’s not what the meter indicates. There isn’t even a fixed charge of any sort. Just zero dollars due.
On the face of it that might seem like great news and suggests that someone downtown has taken their head out from where the sun doesn’t shine, but I’m not so sure so I wait another 30 days. And a couple of days ago the second bill arrives. It’s zero dollars again. No fixed charge. No consumption. The same exact meter reading as the first bill. Now… there is an old adage about never asking a question that you don’t want the answer to, but in this case if I just sit around and let GEBE do this without some sort of explanation and it turns out to be them just screwing up, then you know as well as I what will happen.
A giant bill will show up because of some “administration error” and when I refuse to pay because their bills to date say quite clearly that there is zero consumption (never mind the over production I gave them for free), they will simply say “get lost” and charge me interest and penalties and shut me off.
So I do the prudent thing. I call them and the answer is “nobody knows anything.” And I email the supervisor I know there and get no response. I know you will be shocked to hear that just as I was to experience it.
Maybe this is some secret net metering they are doing and if it is then good for them and they are welcome to the now total of 2400 KWH of free electricity that I have gifted them to date. No charge. Take it with my best wishes. But on the other hand if this is some scam or admin screw up and they are planning to ambush me at some point with invoice-zilla then that’s a whole different issue.
I make note that you can’t get anyone to say anything on the record anymore. The politicians have done their gum flapping and are totally inaccessible as usual and have done exactly nothing and, according to informed sources, have no plans to do anything. GEBE is the sphinx that it has always been. Silent on all issues except when a payment is late.
I think it’s time to haul them into court along with their stake holders and get them on the record once and for all. I think it’s time to make their concession documents a matter of public record and see exactly what their obligations and responsibilities are and I think it is time to find out for real if they are as “bullet proof” in the legal sense as they seem to think they are.
The newly formed “SXM Solar Alliance” needs a good, sharp, and brutally aggressive public service lawyer to handle the class action lawsuit that’s now in the works. Any takers?
Steven Johnson
