The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Monday issued a warning to the four utility companies under its purview about the quality of their service. For this year, the PUC has received 503 complaints about the GTT, GWI, GPL and Digicel.

PUC Chairperson, Dela Britton warned that there are sanctions available to the Commission and said while due diligence has to take its course, the Commission remains committed to ensuring that citizens receive efficient service at an affordable cost.

“If they continue to fail to remedy breaches in their service within reasonable time there are sanctions for those,” Britton said.

She explained that the most stringent penalty is to order a closure of the utility but said this has not been done since the PUC began its work in 1990. The PUC said it has accepted monetary sanctions from companies in the past.

“We have not used the extreme penalty of closure and it is not something we want to do,” she added.

The regulatory body which has an advisory, investigative and enforcement mandate currently regulates the services provided by the Guyana Power and Light, the Guyana Water Inc., The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company and Digicel.

The PUC’s Complaints Manager, Destra Bourne explained that for 2017, a total of 503 complaints were received.

Of that number, 355 were against GTT, 124 against GPL, 23 against GWI and three against Digicel.

Most of the complaints against GTT were for technical issues and came mostly from residents in the Berbice, Region Six area, Bourne said.

She said resolutions are usually fast and most of the complaints from the first quarter of the year are resolved but there are still over 100 unresolved cases.

It was noted that some complaints are complex and would require time to be addressed.

Notwithstanding this, the companies are said to be engaged in offering customers compensation for damages and instances where the company is found wanting.

Bourne explained that GPL has refunded over $30 million while GTT has refunded $635,000. GWI also found itself refunding customers to the tune of $522,000.

The reasons for these refunds include failure to provide a service paid for and over-billing.

Bourne said consumers continue to make claims for compensation from these companies, some of which have been paid and others are still being investigated.

Speaking of the poor quality of internet service, Britton explained that the PUC does not regulate data as yet and as a result has no authority over that aspect of service.

“But we are still trying to work with these companies to ensure the service is of high quality.”

This is expected to change when new telecommunication regulations come into effect.