An increase in electricity tariffs may be imminent but so far the power company has not raised the issue nor has Cabinet addressed it, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon has said.
However, in the light of worldwide fuel price increases, Luncheon said Cabinet has recognised that the company would only achieve financial recovery if it raised tariffs, even with successful loss reduction activities and a reduction of operating and maintenance costs.
“Any likely tariff increases have not yet been addressed at Cabinet, but I anticipate that soon the company would be having an engagement with Cabinet… Or the matter, among other things, would be discussed at the level of the Cabinet subcommittee on finance,” he told reporters.
At his post cabinet briefing yesterday Luncheon said Cabinet was briefed by the responsible minister about the recent development regarding the power company which generated some lessening of concerns about its state of affairs and supply of powers to consumers.
He said the arrival of the five generating sets and their expected role in bolstering generating capacity in the Demerara grid were highlighted.
Luncheon said too that Cabinet was advised about the successful final testing of the Skeldon power plant, which meant that an additional 7.5 megawatts of power would soon be available in the Berbice grid.
At the launch of its energy conservation campaign earlier this month, GPL CEO Bharrat Dindyal had said that the company had not ruled out the option of adjusting tariffs, given sky-rocketing global fuel prices.
He had said too that in July 2005, the last time the power company raised tariffs, fuel was a little over US$30 per barrel, and at that time some $760 million was expended each month on fuel. Now the company is expending more that $1.6 billion on fuel each month, using 100,000 gallons each day.
