Light & Power's Pandemic Response Plan
Roger Blackman - Managing Director

March 27, 2020

In keeping with our Pandemic Response Plan enacted in early March, and in support of the COVID-19 response by the Government of Barbados, the Barbados Light & Power Company is implementing changes to its operations to ensure the continuation of a safe reliable service. Our first priority has always been the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees, our contractors, our customers and all Barbadians, and that has never been more true than today.

This is an unprecedented time for our business and certainly for our country.

Since the confirmation of COVID-19 cases in Barbados, Light & Power has implemented measures to promote social distancing in our customer service office at the Garrison, including limiting the number of customers.

To further safeguard employees and the public, we elected to close the office effective March 24th. Most of the Company’s office-based staff are currently working from home. They have been fully equipped to enable them to manage customer inquiries of all descriptions. We invite customers to contact our team by phone at 626-4300 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In addition, bill payments may continue to be made via cheque through our drop box at the Garrison, online at blpc.com.bb, through commercial banks and financial institutions, and through SurePay locations and Post Offices.

Other measures taken to safeguard the health and wellness of our teams include reducing the number of employees in the field to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and we have reduced our distribution crews from three persons to two wherever possible to maintain social distancing as they travel together in our Company’s fleet. Of course, while doing this, we are carefully reviewing the service jobs, the resources required and the overall need to sustain business operations. Of note, we have expedited the rate of rollout of our AMI project to ensure that customers’ meters can be read remotely without the need for meter readers in the field. That project is now 80% complete.

At this time we will:
 Schedule crews on a rotation basis but have resources available to us as needed;
 Suspend routine maintenance and operate with reduced capacity but maintain our 24-Hour response system; and
 Respond to emergency and safety-related situations.

In terms of our power generation capacity, we are currently in good shape. We are also currently working with some of our overseas suppliers and equipment manufacturers to provide virtual support for ongoing activities where necessary; and work on our Clean Energy Bridge project at Trents, St. Lucy continues, at least for the time being.

I want to assure you that you can continue to count on us in the coming days and weeks as we navigate this global health crisis together.
From what we have witnessed around the world of COVID-19 impacts on communities and economies, there is little doubt that, from an economic perspective, this will be a difficult time for many Barbadians.

We recognise that some of our most vulnerable in society will experience the greatest impact during this pandemic period. Therefore, we will take immediate steps to support the national initiatives in this regard. At this time, we will be making a contribution of $100,000 to the Welfare Department so that they can increase their assistance to families in need during this period.

It is quite reasonable to think that there will be others, not on Welfare, but experiencing challenges with making their payments, and such persons can call us directly to discuss a plan that can result in some financial ease.

As recently mentioned by the Prime Minister, we have commenced a discussion with the Barbados National Oil Company on fuel hedging. Fuel hedging at a time like this can bring competitive pricing and stability to the fuel portion of customers’ bills.

As we have seen in other countries, and as the experts have said, it takes every individual in every community to manage the spread of COVID-19. Light & Power fully supports the Government of Barbados in their actions to minimize the impact of this deadly virus, and help safeguard the people of Barbados.

I am immensely proud of the Light & Power team as they adapt without missing a beat in such quickly evolving and uncertain times.

Across our business and in the homes where so many of our employees are now working from, we are practicing social distancing at every opportunity, washing our hands frequently, trying not to touch our faces, keeping informed through reliable news sources, following our government’s direction and checking in on each other. We urge all Barbadians to follow suit.

 Please stay safe. And as always, I remind you that you can on count on us at The Barbados Light & Power Company.