Court rules against GEBE expert survey

April 07, 2010 12:41 PM

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance has rejected the request of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to appoint an expert to assess the situation at utilities company GEBE.

The Chamber filed this request on December 17, 2009, on behalf of business owners, in a bid to obtain payment of damages from GEBE due to the frequent and ongoing power outages.

The Chamber has been investigating since October last year to what extent the utilities company can be held responsible for the power outages and damage caused by these outages.

According to the Chamber of Commerce, Article 16 of the Federal Ordinance on Electricity Concessions states that despite government's supervision, the electricity company is responsible for all damage to persons and goods caused by the operation of the company, unless it can be proven that the company is not to be blamed. It is the Chamber's opinion that the damage incurred was caused by GEBE's faulty management.

The Chamber wanted an independent expert of Energy Centre Netherlands (ECN) to determine what had caused the frequent power failures in 2009 and what measures GEBE had taken to prevent future power cuts. It was the Chamber's intention to base its possible claim against GEBE on the expert's findings.

However, Judge René van Veen found the request to appoint an expert insufficiently substantiated. According to the judge, it is the Chamber's intention to file for damages in a Court of Law. It is therefore up to the Chamber to present facts and circumstances that can be proven with the requested expert's report. But the Chamber had only asked for an investigation into GEBE's operational management.

The judge further found the Chamber's claim that its membership had suffered damage not well-founded. "Everybody in St. Maarten is suffering from power outages, but that does not make it plausible that one has also suffered losses."

Chamber of Commerce President Glen Carty said the Chamber's attorney was reviewing the judgment before determining how to proceed. He said power outages and their impact continued to be a concern for the private sector. The Chamber, he said, had received numerous calls from the private sector complaining about the power outage over the weekend. He said the Chamber would determine its next course of action based on the advice of its attorney.

In response to the verdict, GEBE's Commercial Manager Steve Duzanson said it was unfortunate that the Chamber had chosen to take the matter to court instead of engaging in cooperative dialogue.

He said GEBE's Managing Director William Brooks had offered the Chamber a personal tour of the new power plant and generators before the plant had even been inaugurated and before the Commissioner in charge of Public Utilities had visited the new facilities.

The intention was for Brooks to explain the process and discuss several issues with the Chamber, similar to what has been done with the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association and the St. Maarten Timeshare Association. The Chamber declined this offer and chose to go to court, Duzanson said.

"It's unfortunate because we like to work cooperatively with our clients and the Chamber represents our clients. The Chamber obviously did not want to engage in dialogue. Nevertheless, we still prefer dialogue and cooperation and look forward to this in the future with the Chamber and the people we serve," Duzanson said.

(Source: The Daily Herald Sint Maarten)

6 April 2010