The Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) said yesterday that unless the increased electricity tariff is withdrawn immediately some Lethem businesses might be prepared to relocate to Bom Fin in northern Brazil where cheaper power is available.
The RCCI statement was issued in response to “the sudden hike in power cost for electricity consumed from the Lethem Power Company Inc, which took effect from July 1 last.” The chamber said too that there was a likelihood that some business houses in Lethem might also be prepared to close their doors permanently over the issue.
The RCCI said the announcement regarding the tariff hike was made by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at a meeting in the community last Friday and that the PM had notified the meeting that the decision had been taken by the Power Company’s Board of Directors. However, the Chamber said, both businesses and the community as a whole were “disturbed and peeved” since the decision to increase the tariffs had been taken “without proper consultation” with Chamber members.
Powering Lethem has long been a matter of fretfulness between government and the community with problems ranging from fuel supply to equipment defects. Aiming for a decisive official intervention, the Chamber is calling for the intermediation of the President and Cabinet.
Noting that there had been no agreement between the power company and the Chamber on the matter of increased electricity charges, the statement said that when the two met in February they had accepted and agreed to electricity rates as follows: The first 15 kilowatt hours (kWh) hours of electricity will remain free for residential and commercial consumers. For residential consumers, from 16- 45 kWh, the rate will be $55 per kWh, and from 46 kWh and above, the cost will be $60 per kWh. It was also agreed that for commercial consumers, from 16 to 100 kWh, the rate will be $55 per kWh, from 101 to 200 kWh, $60 per kWh, from 201 to 400 kWh, $70 per kWh, and for over 400 units consumed, $75 per kWh.
The Chamber’s statement noted that even at that rate which took effect in February of this year the power company was failing to reliably supply electricity to consumers. “There were always blackout and other disruptions even though the power company had acquired two new generators,” the statement added.
Additionally, the consumers—both residential and commercial—were finding it difficult to cope with the rates agreed upon in February.
