According to St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service Water Services Manager and Engineer Cromwell Williams explained that historically, there was one billing centre for both electricity and water utilities that was administered chiefly by the former Electricity Department, so when Caribbean Utilities Management Company took over the operations of the Electricity Department in August of this year the billing arrangements remained the same.

Mr. Williams clarified that for financial and accounting reasons it was much easier to have cheques written in the name of “St. Kitts Electricity Company.”  He outlined that should cheques continue to be endorsed to the Accountant General; the procedure would be much slower and more difficult than the favoured and proposed procedure of the St. Kitts Electricity Company.

The Water Services Manager also stated that at the moment there is a monthly arrangement between Government and the Management Company that allows the St. Kitts Electricity Company to keep a percentage of the income as compensation for continuing the billing procedures on behalf of the Water Services Department; the balance is then transferred to the Accountant General.

The creation of separate billing centres for water and electricity would remove the need for such a process thence the investigations into such an option.  As a fully incorporated business entity, the St. Kitts Electricity Company is already responsible for its own collections and out of these manages its own business.