PHILIPSBURG:--- For approximately one year, I, URSM Candidate Julian Rollocks Jr., have introduced and discussed the proposal of GEBE offering prepaid electricity service to the general public of St. Maarten. I believe that a prepaid system is very much needed due to GEBE’s ongoing issues with billing. The prepaid system is a “pay as you go” system which is beneficial to the consumer in many different ways. If GEBE were to introduce a prepaid system, it would offer an excellent opportunity to offer relief to the citizens of St. Maarten, especially to the senior citizens of our nation.
As we are all aware, our people are facing some serious economic hardships and any relief with their electricity bills would be a step in the right direction. The current situation of sending high and miscalculated bills to our people is detrimental and worrisome. The
implementation of a prepaid system allows our citizens to control how much they are willing to spend on energy usage rather than getting unexpected bills on a monthly basis. As mentioned before, prepay meters are a “pay as you go” (PAYG) system that would offer GEBE customers the luxury of not having to worry about monthly bills. If for some reason, you are struggling to pay GEBE’s bills, prepayment meters can be used to repay a set amount over a period of time that is suitable to the customer. Another benefit of the prepaid system is that it will also cut administrative costs for GEBE. I am calling on the Government of St. Maarten and GEBE to implement the prepaid electricity system in order to bring much-needed relief to the people of St. Maarten. I can guarantee that people will be applying for this innovative prepaid system.
As I stated before, the people of St. Maarten are in need of economic and financial relief and they should not be worried about looking forward to big electricity bills on a monthly basis. Bear in mind that Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and St. Eustatius all use the prepaid electricity system and it works well for their citizens. What is the hold-up? When will our people start getting relief in this country? It is time for the Government of St. Maarten and GEBE to do their part to ease the burden on the people of St. Maarten.
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