By CANDIA DAMES, Guardian News Editor

It cost the Public Treasury just under $3 million to subsidize the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) in October and November, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said yesterday.

The subsidy is part of the government's electricity relief program Ingraham unveiled weeks ago. He said yesterday that the government does not yet know what the figure will be for December. The payments allow BEC to keep the fuel surcharge at 15 cents per kilowatt hour for residential consumers who burn 800 kwh or less per month, which Ingraham said accounts for 80 percent of consumers.

"There are 52,000 consumers who are at the 800 or fewer units on a monthly basis. That will cost the

Public Treasury $1.5 million for October and $1.4 million for November," Ingraham said. "We expect that the cost of fuel will continue to come down and we expect that by January the government subsidy, though it would not be in effect, would not be needed anymore to cushion the impact of it."

He said the Department of Social Services has paid in full the electricity bills of 200 Bahamians and just over 2,100 households entered into special arrangements with the Bahamas Electricity Corporation to ensure their power stays on.

"When we intervened as a result of the high fuel cost in July, 4,700 households had been disconnected throughout The Bahamas," Ingraham informed. "That number is now down to 1,400 thanks to the program put in place by the FNM."

Additionally, Prime Minister Ingraham said that in Grand Bahama the government is likely to spend less than half a million dollars subsidizing electricity instead of the $1.5 million it had planned to spend as part of a three-month deal it struck with the power company on that island. He explained that the level of subsidy originally proposed will not be needed because the company has been able to purchase oil at a cheaper price.

The government intervened in September to provide relief to thousands of electricity customers across The Bahamas due to high costs, which resulted in thousands of supplies being disconnected. At the start of the fiscal year, a tax holiday kicked in for BEC as the government moved to address consumers' concerns. The price of a barrel of oil on the international market has continued to drop since July, when it climbed as high as $145. The cost was under $50 per barrel yesterday.

Ingraham, who spoke to reporters after a debate on the economy ended in the House of Assembly, said he and his government remain focused on providing assistance to Bahamians most in need during this slow economic period.

"I don't pay attention to those who say we're not doing anything," said Ingraham. "The people of The Bahamas know what we're doing. They are the beneficiaries of it. I sleep very well at night knowing that every day I do the best I can for as many people as I can and I get my satisfaction out of knowing that the public of The Bahamas' interest is well served by my presence in office."