Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission's Questionable Identity Policy

It's no secret that I'm administrating a fair amount of land these days - and part of that job is assuring that basic amenities are made available. Due to the fact that a lot of people have been getting connections without landowner permission in the past (which is the tail end of simply building a house without permission), Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) has put in place measures to assure that this does not happen - thus assuring that they are not liable for damages and property loss.

But it's a half measure, and can be considered as effective as no measure at all.

I'll explain. As a landowner, tenants ask me to get permission to get the electrical connection - mainly because present policy forces them to do so, I think, but so be it - the policy only protects me from honest people encroaching on my lands. Honest people typically aren't the issue. That said, here's what is supposed to happen for someone to get connected on tenanted land (ignoring any previous permissions):

1. The house is inspected by a licensed electrician.
2. The inspection certificate is made up and given to the tenant.
3. The landowner then fills out a letter with the deed number and their identification number, as well as the identification number of the tenant, and where the house is situated.
4. The letter, with copy of deed and copy of landowner's identification as well as the insurance certificate, is then passed along to the head office and T&TEC facilitates electrical connection.

The problem here is the copy of the landowner's identification card, which includes - as a part of it - the signature. The policy is allegedly made such that the landowner doesn't have to sit in line every single time someone needs an electrical connection. But there's a big gaping hole in this: The photocopy of the identification card.

After the first person gets connected, they have a deed copy on file to reference. They also get a copy of the landowner's identification card, with the landowner present (if the landowner is smart). So these little pieces of paper should make themselves into a folder somewhere in T&TEC's filing system. Thus, they should now have all the information on file which they should be able to pull up based on Deed Number or even Identification Number. This is not rocket science. It isn't even as hard as the Dewey Decimal System. This is a simple thing which could simply use the landowner's name!

For every connection for tenants after that, T&TEC doesn't require a copy of the deed. But they want... a copy of the identification card.

When I was out clearing an area to plant corn (!), one of my tenants called me and told me that T&TEC wanted a copy of my identification. This seems silly to me. They should have that on file, they have my number on file, they should be able to call me if there is a question. They had tried to call me but I was operating a brushcutter at the time, so I missed the call. They did not leave a voicemail (because that would be professional, I suppose).

So, hot and sweaty and more than a little irate, I called them and asked them about it. The irate was masked with charm. I asked how many trees we had to kill to get this right. After being sent around T&TEC's phone system for about 15 minutes, a nice woman said that the reason given for wanting the photocopy of the identification card was to assure that my signature on the paper was valid.

Wait a minute. I ask her, "Can't a photocopy of identification be changed so that it matches a signature?"

A silence... I say, "Why yes, yes it can!"

And she responds, "You're right."

So I say, "This is a rather silly policy. Who do we talk to so that we can make this policy better reflect intelligence of people who work at T&TEC?"

She does not know. I believe her. I tell her I will write about it.

The point of all of this is that for every tenant who needs connection or reconnection, I have to go down to T&TEC's office with my identification (not my deed!) to assure that people get connected without risking my personal information. But here's the big dumb elephant in the middle of the table:

If they have my deed number on file, shouldn't they have my signature in that file? Of course they should. But instead of doing that, which makes the entire process more livable for everyone, they open the landowner to identity theft and are doing their bit to destroy trees on the planet while doing so.

T&TEC needs some digital enlightenment on that process. But there's no one to tell that to that I know of. So I write it here in the hope that someone will read it and pass it along.