It would cost $500,000 to separate the electricity supply that serves both Coco Reef resort and the Bermuda College.

As a row over who is paying the hotel?s electricity bill rumbled on among senators, it was revealed utility company Belco had estimated the cost of putting in a separate meter for the resort at $493,000.

The reason for the high expense is an intertwined cooling system that serves both establishments, which would also need to be separated to enable accurate metering of the two adjacent properties.

Accusations continued to fly between the Opposition United Bermuda Party and the Government in the Senate chamber after raised the matter and said the Government had not answered the question simply by revealing statements about how much the resort has handed over the college for its share of the utility charge.

If the hotel in Paget is not paying its full portion of the bill then taxpayers would be effectively subsidising it through the Bermuda College?s budget and without a separate electricity meter it is mere guess work that Coco Reef is paying an accurate share of the bill, argued the senator.

That view was shared by UBP colleague , who said the $122,000 annually paid by the resort to the college was an estimate, adding: ?No one knows what their actual bill is each year. Someone has come up with this arbitrary figure.

?They have had plenty of time to install a meter, it?s not rocket science. You just call up Belco and they come and dig a trench.

?Why, after all this time, has a simple thing like a putting in a separate utility meter not been done??

He said the arrangement between the college and the resort was ?controversial? and that is why it was being put under extra scrutiny.

Chairman of the Bermuda College Board, , replied: ?This facility was built many years ago and yes, there is only one meter.

?As chairman for the college board we have investigated, through a sub-committee, the splitting of the electricity bill and met with Belco and received an estimate to install a meter and two separate supplies. It would cost $493,000.

?The chilling and cooling system of the hotel and the college is intertwined. To say it is simply a case of putting in a meter is misleading.?

He explained that the electricity bill is paid by the college, which then charges the hotel for its portion based on the bills for other similar-sized guest houses on the Island, adding: ?So we did not simply pull this figure out of the blue sky.?

Sen. Tannock also responded to criticism about the low number of hospitality students being trained at Coco Reef, pointing out that it is students themselves who chose where to do their training and many went to the establishments such as the Fairmont Southampton and Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotels where they could experience a greater range of opportunities.

?Coco Reef have, whenever we ask them to do any training for us, willingly done so. It?s not their mandate to go and get students, it?s their mandate to provide a service for students who go up there ? and they have lived up to that,? he said.

And Junior Minister for Tourism and Transport, , outlined a number of Government tourism initiatives and said Coco Reef had gained a prestigious Caribbean tourism award.

He said the UBP?s earlier allegations that the hotel was not paying its electricity bill were ?false? and intended to mislead the public.

He added: ?I?m yet to hear an apology from the members of the Opposition for their allegations about the paying of the utility bill.?