A motion from acting Public counsel Sharon Dean for the proceedings to be adjourned for two months was denied by chairman of the commission Dr Donley Carrington.
Dean in speaking on the motion, which included a request for an extension to file relevant documentation, argued that she took up the post from the substantive holder on Monday September 19th and was therefore unprepared to carry out her duties as a representative of consumers in Barbados. Due to the illness of the substantive public counsel, who is on extended sick leave, Dean stated it was impossible to properly prepare in one day for a case as technical as this which involved over 3,500 pages of documents.
The motion had the support of all the intervenors except the B’dos Renewable Energy Association (BREA) led by Stephen Worme who stated that while the office of Public Counsel was important, there were others present who could represent consumers.
After the panel returned from deliberating on the motion chairman of the commission Dr Donley Carrington ruled hat despite oral submissions, no sworn evidence had been presented to show there were active efforts to find a suitable replacement for the public counsel, that the rate review dated September 30, 2021 was filed on October 4th of the same year, the previous adjournment had given all parties time to comply with procedural orders, the date fixed for hearing was set on August 22, 2022 which gave enough time for the motions of adjournment to be made in a reasonable time.
