Princes Town MP, Barry Padarath has slammed the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) for what he called being agents of the government in an attempt to pass on the burden and debts of T&TEC to citizens.
In a media release on Thursday, Padarath indicated that in the lead-up to the Local Government Election, the Opposition Leader warned the population that T&TEC rate hikes were coming as soon as the election was over.
Padarath says the collusion between the government and their puppets in state institutions was glaring in light of today’s (Thursday) developments.”
He says that “the presentation and the presenters left the population with many more questions than answers since the tiered system was not properly articulated and at many times, both the executive director and the Chairman seemed confused.”
The MP said while small businesses may find the commercial rates a bit favourable to them, he asked who was going to protect the consumer?
“Who is going to ensure that businesses who receive the reduction will still not pass on additional costs to customers?”
Padarath said he was also deeply disturbed by the rationale provided by the Minister of Public Utilities for the new rates.