And one of those promises is to lower utility rates – but, we’ll tell you, tonight, it’s not looking good. And the best advice we can give you is to brace yourselves – because the Belize Electricity Limited has asked for a rate increase of 15%. That’s right – yesterday BEL made what’s called a ‘Threshold Event Review Application,’ and in it they ask the PUC to increase the per kilowatt charge by an average of 6.5 cents. May not sound like much but if approved it could mean paying an additional 15% monthly on your light bill.
The announcement was made today by both BEL and the Public Utilities Commission. With soaring oil prices, BEL says the cost of energy worldwide is steadily increasing and in fact the actual cost of power between July 2007 and February 2008 exceeded projections by more than $6 million. At a press briefing this afternoon PUC’s Executive Chairman Roberto Young explained what that means to your light bill.
Roberto Young, Executive Chairman – PUP
“The PUC will consider a request from BEL for an increase in tariffs to recover new deferrals due to the cost of power rate stabilization account, CPRC, from July 2007 through February 2008 of $6.56 million above the $19 million already provided for in the electricity tariffs fees and charges by laws. BEL submission reports the actual cost of power from July 2007 through to February 2008, provides the updated forecast of the cost of power for the remainder of 2008 and proposes a tariff adjustment of 6.5 cents in the mean electricity rate.”
Keith Swift,
What does that mean for customers? What exactly is BEL asking for?
Roberto Young,
“BEL is in effecting asking for a 15% increase in your bills. So if your electricity bill is ten dollars, it will be like $10.15 or something like that.”
Keith Swift,
So they are saying the cost of electricity was $6 million more than they projected, how will you determine if this is indeed so?
Roberto Young,
“Okay the analysis takes place within the PUC. Again we got the information that they have sent to us and we analyze it plus we depend on the public to also look at it, try to get information, do research, do whatever – verify that these prices are like that – even though we are doing it but we want the public to participate and try to see if it is justifiable to BEL to commit to this request.”
Keith Swift,
Would you consider a 15% increase a high request, 15% in one lick?
Roberto Young,
“If you look at the oil prices, prices have been increasing and what they did, initially when they did the ARP in 2007 it was based at US$65 a gallon for a barrel of oil and now we are over US$100. Whether it is high or low again, that is part of the process where we will look at it and see whether it is justifiable.”
The way TERP works is that there will be no public hearings but citizens are encouraged to submit comments and information to the PUC. You’ll have ten days to do that and the PUC will announce a decision shortly after. Prime Minister Dean Barrow today told us that the newly re-constituted PUC will look very closely at the TERP.You read the TERP at PUC.bz.
