00:00About three of the 13 stalls at the breakfast shed are operational after the food establishment reopened its doors on Monday.
00:08It comes as a payment to the sum of $30,000 was made to TNTech to have the electricity reconnected,
00:15following a bill for a res of around $300,000, which led to the initial disconnection.
00:22Vendors are happy to once again be able to earn a living after being shut down about two months ago.
00:27Financial advisor for the vendors of the breakfast shed, Robert Lee Hunt, says
00:32the payment was made as part of an agreement with TNTech, which has given the vendors six months to pay the outstanding balance.
00:39But he sees this as an injustice because, according to Lee Hunt, since 2006,
00:45the breakfast shed was classified as a D2 industrial customer and allocated 215 kVA of electricity it didn't need but had to pay for.
00:55So, over the years, the 19 years of operation, the breakfast shed has basically used less than 10% of that amount.
01:05As a result, the breakfast shed, based on what were their billings and actual money paid to TNTech
01:13versus what was their actual amount utilized, they paid in excess of over $2.2 million in electricity bills.
01:27According to Lee Hunt, the issue was brought to TNTech's attention in 2023,
01:32and the vendors were told it would require rewiring for commercial rates.
01:36And their bills would have dropped from $13,000 to probably about $2,000 a month.
01:43A procedure which they couldn't undertake without the finances and the necessary process under the landlord, Udicot.
01:50Lee Hunt states that TNTech simply left the situation as is,
01:54when it could have simply reclassified the breakfast shed as a D1 industrial customer,
01:59which would have decreased the bill by more than 60%.
02:02And therefore, as a result of that, there would have been no arrails.
02:10So, my request to TNTech, which I've just made, was one,
02:15move them immediately from D2 to D1, which TNTech has agreed to do.
02:21Lee Hunt says any payment of the balance will be made in protest,
02:26because the matter is now before the Regulated Industries Commission requesting intervention,
02:30and the RIC has written to TNTech.
02:33My suggestion to TNTech was, give them, based on the money that they paid,
02:40at least five years electricity free, because you owe them about $2 million,
02:46and between the two state agencies, transfer the difference to Udicot,
02:52which TNTech got in excess,
02:54and let Udicot use that against the rent that you are saying that is outstanding.
03:00And in that way, the people at the breakfast shed would have had no outstanding liability.
03:07Lee Hunt has also written to the Minister of Public Utilities and the Minister of Works,
03:11which is responsible for Udicot.
03:13In addition, a meeting has been requested with Udicot.
03:17He calls for good sense to prevail and hopes for arbitration instead of litigation,
03:22the latter of which he notes is costly and time-consuming.
03:25Lee Hunt believes it comes down to one fundamental matter.
03:29And I am hoping that some bit of humanitarian consideration be given,
03:35and it's not even humanitarian, it's just really justice be given,
03:39where somebody will make a decision and recognize this was a mistake
03:44and therefore rectify the issue.
03:47Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:51If you have a escol that.
03:53Thanks.
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