Barbados

Getting Electricity in

Barbados

Below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building in Barbados.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

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  • Standardized Company

  • Name of Utility: Barbados Light and Power Company
  • City: Bridgetown

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Contractor writes to Light & Power to inform them of requirement and receives quotation for new connection

Contractor usually sends this letter at the beginning of the internal wiring process. The utility staff makes an external site visit to see the location of the warehouse, nearest connection point and access to warehouse. Customer need not be present at this inspection. After inspection, Light & Power will send the customer the quotation which is valid for 6 months. There is a calculation for estimation of capital charges, and if under a certain amount, then a part of the capital costs are rolled into tariffs. The quotation provided will be for additional line work giving an allowance based on the expected base revenue to be earned from the customer in the first year of operation (a capital contribution policy). Based on the scenario, a padmount transformer and HT cable drop would probably be required costing less than BD$30,000 in total which would be less than the allowance so the customer will not have to make a contribution to the cost.
Agency: Barbados Light and Power Company 		10 calendar days no charge
2 Request and receive final inspection from Government Electrical Engineering Department

This is the final inspection done by the Government Electrical Engineering Dept- there are usually two earlier inspection done by GEED to check internal wiring.
Agency: Government Electrical Engineering Department 		14 calendar days no charge
3 Submit application form to Light & Power and request external connection

Documents to be submitted along with application include Electrical Inspection certificate of approval, certificate of registration for a new business.
Agency: Barbados Light and Power Company 		21 calendar days BBD 9,485.0
* 4 Customer conducts external connection works

Customer’s contractor needs to construct a transformer pad, installation of ducts and LT cables and connection between the transformer and the customer’s panels. The ducts are provided by the utility and installed by customer’s contractor.
Agency: Electrical Contractor 		14 calendar days BBD 10,000.0
5 Receive inspection from Light and Power

An external inspection is required when installation is complete and the customer has made preparation for the transformer pad and ducts. Contractor need not be present, but is usually the practice that the contractor is present
Agency: Barbados Light and Power Company 		11 calendar days no charge
6 Utility conducts external connection works

The utility is responsible for installation of HT cable, transformer and any pole and HT linework that may be required.
Agency: Barbados Light and Power Company 		7 calendar days no charge
7 Receive meter installation and turn on of electricity

Usually a specialized meter technician installs the meter which is not the same crew that installs the transformer. The connection energized once the meter is installed (unless the customer instruction the utility to not do so).
Agency: Barbados Light and Power Company 		2 calendar days no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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