No Increase in Water Rates for 2 Years

Residents can breathe a sigh of relief tonight following an initial decision made by the Public Utilities Commission not to increase water rates for the next two years. On October first, the Belize Water Services Limited tabled an application for approval of a five-year business plan for increase to the tariffs, fees and charges for potable water. That proposal was for an overall increase of ten percent between 2022 and 2025. No written submissions were made within the prescribed period and after the P.U.C. carried out its rate setting methodology, it decided that there will be no adjustment to tariffs for April first 2020 to March thirty-first, 2022. There will be an increase, however, by two point two five percent for the period April first, 2022 to March thirty-first, 2025. Today, at a press brief at the Radisson, P.U.C. Chairman John Avery said that the commission is satisfied that the average rate increase of one point four-two percent over the five-year period is adequate.

John Avery

John Avery, Chairman, PUC

“BWS had proposed that we keep the rates the same for the first two years of the five-year period and then we increase to ten percent for the next three years. What the Commission actually approved was to keep the rates the same for the first two years and then to apply a two point two-five percent increase for the next three years. Right now the current rate is seven point four-nine so that remains and then the two point two-five translates to seventeen point eight-eight cents. Now, the net TBR we have under the totals in the table above is two hundred and sixty-seven million, nine hundred and ninety-five thousand two hundred and sixty-seven dollars. When we apply this increase, the two point two-five [percent] after three years, and then we calculate it based on the expected consumption, basically we end up with two hundred and sixty-seven million nine hundred and eleven so there is about eighty thousand dollars difference. But again the way we set rates, we have to reconcile previous periods so that eighty thousand dollars compared to the almost two hundred and sixty-eight million is basically nothing.”