Belize Electricity Limited has proposed changes to its tariff structure and the news for residential customers tonight is that your rate could be going up. But the service charge is going down so BEL says you will probably end up paying less.
The changes were submitted yesterday to the Public Utilities Commission as part of BEL's annual tariff review proceedings. In short BEL says it is offering what amounts to incentives for customers to consume less energy. The company plans to eliminate the $10 service charge and replace it with a $5 flat fee which will be payable only by those customers who consume less than 5 dollars worth of electricity a month. So if your bill is more than $5 - you won't pay any service charge.
As for the new rates, the company is proposing to actually increase the per kilowatt charges for residential consumers.
In the case of up 50 kilowatt hours it will jump from 29 to 35 cents per kilowatt hour consumed. For 51 to 200 kilowatt hours of consumption it will jump from 41 to 44 cents a kilowatt hour consumed, And above 2 hundred kilowatt hour it will cost 1 cent more - 46 to 47 cents a kilowatt hour. Still the company says that with the service charge offset, this will translate into a decrease on your monthly bill. If you consume 50 kilowatt hours a month your bill should decrease from $24.50 to $17.50. It will vary decrease for all residential customers who consumer less than 500 kilowatt hours per month.
For those who consume more your light bill will increase and that's even without the ten dollar service charge.
The only customers for whom the rate will be decreasing is industrial customers. The company is proposing to charge industrial customers a flat 33 cents per kilowatt hour. Previously there was a rate for both off peak and peak. Industrial customers who use more than one point five megawatts will now pay 28 cents per kilowatt hour consumed.
So when do these rates come into effect? Well they might not. These are actually only proposals by BEL.
And if you don't like them, you can submit comments to the Public Utilities Commission between now and April 23rd 2007. The PUC will make a decision on BEL's proposal on or before May 2nd. Depending on the decision, thereafter there will be opportunities for members of the public or BEL to appeal the decisions. And whatever the decision is, it will come into effect on July 1st.