40% of Persons Surveyed Say They Suffered Damages Due to MUL Power Outages

A report on Montserrat Utilities Limited…MUL has highlighted that a significant percentage of customers surveyed said they had suffered damages due to the recent spate of power outages.

A performance review of MUL by the Office of the Auditor General states that 40% of customers reported damage to appliances and to electronic equipment.

The report says frequent power-surges and interruptions of electricity have occurred from October, 2016, to the present.

It also says that 100% reliance on diesel-generators and imported fossil-fuels continues, as neither the solar project nor the geothermal project is yet to contribute to the national power-grid.

The review reveals that the company falls short of many customers’ expectations of customer-service in areas such as no online accounts, no debit-card or credit-card payments, no online payments & no electronic receipts.

MUL has been credited with excellent water quality and satisfactory sewage-services.

The performance review however finds that water-storage remains inadequate in some parts of the island, and below the 3-day-supply benchmark.

The great majority of customers surveyed felt that the price of water is low to very low, but that the price of electricity is high to very high.

The Office of the Auditor General says it is pleased to announce that this report - Monserrat Utilities Limited: Value for Money in Delivery of Service to the Public was presented to the Legislative Assembly on November 27.

M.U.L. is both a Government-owned statutory corporation and the island’s monopoly in the provision of electricity, water, and sewage-services.

Its operations affect every household and business in Montserrat, as well as the functioning of the public sector, which is the biggest part of the local economy.