BEL: 7,256 Consumers Not 14,000

7,256, not 14,000 - that's the number of electricity consumers which BEL says have been reclassified from the social to the general rate as of July 1st. Those are the customers who use between 50 and 125 kilowatt hours per month. In January of 2003 the Prime Minister announced that it was 14,000 consumers, but BEL says that since then it purged its system and found that 5,000 of the accounts were inactive, making the Prime Minister's pre-election statement effectively grand but hopelessly inflated. Those 7,256 consumers can expect a sharp increase in their July bill as their rate per kilowatt-hour will increase from 21 cents per to 38 cents per, a hike of over 75%. 7,100 consumers who use less than 50 kilowatt hours per month will continue to pay the social rate which the full tariff review has been increased to 25 cents per kilowatt hour.