PUC Approves B.E.L.’s Rate Increase

The Public Utilities Commission announced via press release today that it has concluded a full tariff review for B.E.L. for the period July 2016 to June 2020. The final decision means that the PUC has approved the regulated values, the mean electricity rate, the tariffs, fees and charges which will be applied in the next four years. According to the release, B.E.L. will be investing one hundred and seventy-two million dollars during that period. And zeroing in on the most important point, the PUC has not approved the increase in mean electricity rate requested by B.E.L.  In a nutshell, B.E.L. months ago requested a rate of thirty-nine cents per kilowatt hour. The utility even brought in an independent expert to bolster the rationale for that request. But the final decision by PUC is a mean electricity rate of thirty-six cents over the full tariff period of four years, with no adjustments to existing fees and charges, and no new fees or charges.