NGC Says Distribution Imminent
The commercial operation start date for the National Gas Company was set as May first – but it is thirteen days past that. So, what’s been the hold up? Is the N.G.C. not ready to distribute or are they stalling on purpose as it speculated by some quarters in the industry? Well, Managing Director Doctor Gilbert Canton says it is neither. The N.G.C., according to Doctor Canton, has the inventory in country and ready to distribute. He says that it should kick off shortly. He explains.
On the Phone: Dr. Gilbert Canton, Managing Director, N.G.C.L.
“The way the legislation set up is that four days prior to the commercial operations date we have a price setting exercise with the Belize Bureau of Standards, right, on this first shipment. The shipment came in and after we have gotten approval on the pricing, which is set up in the legislation, where there is an acquisition cost, and all the pieces that make up the final wholesale sale price as allowed to sell is in the legislation. And once we have that approved then I am confident with what we have. I think the BBS is probably going through the and what we have in our legislation this takes us to our wholesale price and we have to go further to the distribution retail aspect of the industry. In other words, our price in Big Creek, at the depot in Orange Walk, at the depot in Belmopan will be the same price that is delivered anywhere else to the existing players Tomza, Belize Gas, these players. So, if they revise some of to get the same price that they have at the depots and at the terminals to normalize pricing across the country and I think they are trying to work that issue into how they come up with their final retail price for consumers also. I think it is imminent. It is going to happen any day now. We are prepared to go ahead and deliver. We do – obviously the inventory – the ship came in successfully at one point four million gallons in time for Big Creek. We have the four trucks commissioned and ready to run.”
Doctor Canton says that due to COVID-19, there is about a forty-percent less demand for LPG in the country. He says at this time they have about one point four million gallons of LPG in country which represents about a month and a half supply.
