The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (“URCA”) issues this notice in accordance with Section 8(1)(d) of the Communications Act, 2009. On 18 September 2023, URCA published the “Proposed Revisions to Consumer Protection Regulations for the Electronic Communications Sector – ECS 10/2023” document on its website, which provided members of the public and interested parties the opportunity to submit to URCA written responses to URCA’s proposed changes to existing consumer protection regulations to make the regulations up-to-date and fit for purpose; clarify ambiguous parts of the regulations; and issue new measures in areas where consumers were not protected. URCA has subsequently…
The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (“URCA”) issues this Notice in accordance with Section 8(1)(e) of the Communications Act, 2009. On 22 September 2023 URCA published the “Draft 2023 – 2026 Electronic Communications Sector Policy – ECS 11/2023” document on its website, which provided members of the public and interested parties the opportunity to submit to URCA written responses to the Government’s proposed strategic aims and policy objectives for the Electronic Communications Sector (ECS) over the next three years. URCA has subsequently received requests from key industry stakeholders for additional time to formulate responses to the matters contained in the…
Over the course of the past few months, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has received an increasing number of complaints from customers of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) about high electricity bills.Part of URCA’s remit as the regulator for the electricity sector in The Bahamas is to ensure consumer protection and support appropriate billing.URCA considers electricity a basic necessity that should be affordable and remains concerned about the impact of high electricity bills on BPL’s customers and the economy.Considering the widespread complaints, and in accordance with its commitment to protect consumers, URCA has been monitoring the situation. Full…
The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is currently conducting an investigation of numerous outages in electronic communications services throughout The Bahamas in recent months.In August alone, there were significant outages in Andros, the Berry Islands, Exuma, Inagua, Mayaguana and Ragged Island. To date, services have been restored on these islands.Outages and disruptions such as these, and those documented in previous months, have led to increased public concern over the reliability and quality of electronic communications services in The Bahamas.URCA shares that concern and has been consistently engaging with all its stakeholders, which include BTC.On 1 September, URCA met with…
