Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath says the debt owed by T&TEC to NGC has now exceeded $10 billion and will be addressed as part of the Government’s upcoming budget measures.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Government inherited the problem from the previous administration and was now exploring financing options to reduce the growing burden.
“We inherited a situation as you would recall, I raised this inside of the Parliament ad nauseum, where the relationship between T&TEC and NGC was allowed to balloon and escalate. The debt to NGC at this point is surpassing 10 billion dollars. That was a debt that was racked up and left for us by the former administration unaddressed and that relationship between T&TEC and NGC is untenable, it cannot allow to continue.”
Minister Padarath said the issue would be further addressed by the Minister of Finance during next week’s Budget presentation, noting that the Government does not intend to allow the debt to continue escalating without a plan for resolution.
“One of the very first things I addressed upon becoming Minister of Public Utilities was looking for the ways in which we can address financing that debt to bring down that burden between T&TEC and NGC. And the Minister of Finance will speak a lot more to that in terms of how we intend on mitigating against the impacts. Because while it continues to grow, and no substantial solution is being put forward, well at least in the case of the former administration, it is not our intention to allow it to continue without trying to resolve the matter.”