PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament and Leader of the United People’s Party, Omar Ottley, during the continuation of the 2025 Budget Debate, called on Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina and the Council of Ministers to treat the issue of GEBE consumer relief with the same urgency and decisiveness shown during the recent generator purchase. According to Ottley, while progress has finally been made, the suffering of residents disconnected from electricity is too severe.
MP Ottley stated that while he is grateful to finally see some sort of progress, he reminded the PM of his motion submitted on October 29th, 2024, calling for concrete relief measures for GEBE consumers, over seven months ago.
Ottley emphasized that the human impact of disconnections is growing more severe each day, particularly with families, elderly citizens, and hardworking residents being forced to pay outrageous and often inaccurate bills just to have power restored. “We’re talking about children, the elderly, and single parents living in darkness,” Ottley said. “This is not just a billing issue—it’s a humanitarian crisis in our own backyard.”
A major point of contention is GEBE’s current policy of requiring 25% of the outstanding balance before reconnection, even for consumers with clearly disputed or inflated bills. I have been advocating for this even during my tenure as Minister of VSA. “I urge GEBE to reconnect customers immediately, and work out fair and reasonable payment plans after the fact. Don’t punish the people for your system’s failures,” he said.
Ottley warned that waiting until July for formal relief mechanisms is simply too long, especially for those who’ve been without electricity for weeks or months. “Where was this patience when it came to buying generators? That process moved at lightning speed. The same urgency must be applied when dealing with the people’s pain.”
The MP closed by urging collective government intervention, not just from GEBE management but from the Prime Minister himself: “We have a moral duty to act faster. It’s time to show the people they matter just as much as infrastructure.”