ES 05/2024 – Statement of Results and Next Steps – URCA Audit of the Performance and Organizational Maturity of Bahamas Power and Light
In this document, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (“URCA”) issues its State-
ment of Results and Next Step with respect to the Performance and Maturity Audit (Efficiency
Audit) of Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited (BPL).
URCA engaged the services of a group of Consultants, Castalia Advisors and LCI Inc., to carry out
a performance and organizational maturity audit of BPL (the Audit). The objective of the Audit
was to establish baseline performance indicators and develop a regulatory roadmap for URCA to
monitor BPL’s performance.
The broad tasks included the following (to):
• Carry out a full and comprehensive assessment of BPL’s performance and the maturity of
its organization, systems, and processes.
• Develop an Excel-based tool to collect and process BPL’s technical, operational, and finan-
cial data for the performance audit. The tool will also allow URCA to calculate and track
indicators, monitor BPL’s performance and, as necessary, carry out its own audits of BPL’s
performance in the future. URCA will also be able to use this approach for assessing the
performance of other companies with Public Electricity Supplier Licences.
• Assess the factors in BPL’s external environment that may be affecting its ability to per-
form well.
• Recommend actions that BPL, URCA, and the Government could take to improve the per-
formance of BPL and the electricity sector in The Bahamas.
The Audit exercise and the draft final and Final reports was completed over a period spanning six
(6) months. The Audit commenced on 29 September 2023 with a kick-off meeting between
URCA’s team and the Consultants. The Final Report was concluded and submitted to URCA on 24
March 2024.
Castalia and LCI conducted an audit of BPL’s performance and maturity using various tools and
approaches. These included reviewing data and documents related to BPL and its sector, utilizing
an Excel-based diagnostic tool for scoring performance and maturity, administering self-assess-
ment surveys, conducting legal and regulatory reviews, analysing trends in key performance indi-
cators, benchmarking against similar utilities, and conducting interviews and focus groups with
BPL management and staff.
The audit findings report covers the methodology used despite limited data availability, analyses
external factors affecting BPL’s performance, assesses the impact of the regulatory framework,
evaluates BPL’s performance and maturity across five functions, and provides recommendations
for URCA to encourage BPL’s improvement while ensuring sector sustainability.
