Another Increase in Electricity Rates, Twice in 2018
The cost of electricity is set to go up yet again, for a second time in 2018. This follows a formal request by Belize Electricity Limited to the Public Utilities Commission to recover monies that the company has been spending out of pocket to purchase energy from Mexico. The submission from B.E.L. is seeking an increase of zero point two-two cents per kilowatt hour as the Mean Electricity Rate to take effect from January first to June thirtieth, 2019. B.E.L. is hoping to get back approximately eighteen point eight million dollars in cost of power beyond what was previously approved by the commission. Today, at a press conference called by the P.U.C., Chairman John Avery explained the need for the increase.
John Avery
John Avery, Chairman, Public Utilities Commission
“On December tenth, B.E.L. made a submission to the P.U.C., asking the P.U.C. to change the tariffs for the period January 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2019 based on excess cost of power for the last eighteen months. This basically, in their submission, they calculated that there was an excess in cost of power, that they spent on cost of power over what was approved by the P.U.C. during the period, of some eighteen point nine million dollars. And based on expected sales of eight hundred and fifty gigawatt hours over the next eighteen months which takes us to the end of this current full tariff period they were asking to increase the rates, or to put a recovery, a provision for recovery of that amount over the next eighteen months of the exact figure being two point two cents. And so they were asking to increase the rates at this time, the mean electricity rate from thirty-nine point three cents that was approved in the last annual review proceedings to forty-one point five cents.”
