Merging Utilities 'Like Starving Entities'
Second District Representative Melvin 'Mitch' Turnbull has strongly opposed proposed legislation to merge the Water & Sewerage Department with the BVI Electricity Corporation, warning the move could worsen already fragile services. He says the bill offers no clear plan for financial recovery, infrastructure modernisation or meaningful staff protections despite committing government funds to cover water losses for up to 15 years.
Second District Representative Melvin 'Mitch' Turnbull has warned that a proposed merger of the Water & Sewerage Department and the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) risks compounding, rather than solving, the territory's utility problems. Speaking during debate on the bill in the House of Assembly, Turnbull described the proposal as 'putting a starving entity together with another starving entity and expecting them to somehow become healthy.' The legislation would rename BVIEC the Virgin Islands Energy and Water Corporation and transfer all assets, liabilities, contracts and staff into the new statutory body.
It would also require the government to subsidise water and sewerage losses for up to 15 years. Turnbull said the core problem is the bill's lack of detail. 'I was hoping to hear the how,' he told the House, asking how the merged body would be managed, how water revenue would be recovered, how ageing infrastructure would be modernised, and how staff would be protected beyond a straight transfer of contracts.
According to Turnbull, the Water & Sewerage Department runs an annual deficit of more than $20 million while collecting only a fraction of what it spends. He warned that absorbing those losses into BVIEC could drag down an electricity provider that, despite its own challenges, operates a functional billing system, a regulated tariff structure and a proven technical workforce.
Turnbull also criticised the bill as a 'legislative patch' because it binds the government to cover losses without presenting a clear recovery plan or investment strategy. Using examples from his constituency, he highlighted chronic water shortages, leaking pipelines, understaffing and delayed response times that have persisted since before the 2017 hurricanes.
In one instance he said a single water employee is responsible for serving hundreds of residents across a wide area. He was careful to distinguish his criticisms of the policy from his view of staff, whom he called 'heroes' for maintaining essential services under difficult conditions.
He also acknowledged Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer's good intentions but warned that 'hope is not a strategy' and that merging two struggling systems without first fixing their structural problems amounts to 'gambling with essential services.' Opposition members echoed Turnbull's concerns, stressing the need for a clear modernisation and financial recovery plan.
The government, however, holds a clear majority in the House of Assembly and can still move the bill forward. For residents, the debate raises immediate questions about service reliability, long-term costs and what protections will be in place for both employees and customers if the merger proceeds.
Primary source: BVI News