BELCO Submits Request To Increase Rates
BELCO has submitted a request to the Energy Commission for approval to vary its charges and pricing which would result in rate increases, the Energy Commission said today [July 3].
A spokesperson said, “The public are advised that in accordance with Part 3, Section 12 of the Energy Act 2009, BELCO has submitted a request to the Energy Commission for approval to vary its charges and pricing which would result in rate increases.
“The deadline for members of the public to make written submissions commenting on the Tariff Filing has been extended until 5pm July 17th 2015.
“Submissions should be delivered to The Energy Commission c/o Department of Energy, 4th Floor, Corner House, 20 Parliament Street, Hamilton or mailed to The Energy Commission, P.O. Box HM 101, Hamilton HMAX or emailed to The Energy Commission at energycommission@gov.bm.”
Last month BELCO said, “The filing proposes an increase to the Base Rate which is the kilowatt hour [kWh] cost, and the tier-structured Facilities Charge to better reflect the actual cost of service.
“The changes would increase the monthly bill for the average residential customer using 600 kWh per month by approximately 7.8%, those using less would have less of an increase.
“The average increase would be approximately 14.8% for commercial customers. Increases for the largest commercial customers, ‘Demand Customers’, will be based on their efficient use of the electricity system ranging from approximately 8% to over 20%.
“However, if the price of oil remains at current levels, all customers using the same amount of electricity as they did in September 2014, even with the increase, would still see a lower total bill compared with one-year ago.”
No.
All because 6,000 people were driven off the island….
Navin, you are absolutely correct with that statement, Belco should have planned better but they didn’t and now we are going to get hosed again!!!! The plp/biu are a big contributing factor in this!!!!
And dont forget Greece too.
Kangoocar you have a stupid way of thinking belco is in trouble because instead of reinvesting
In. The company all those good years they kept feeding. The greedy. Share holders
How can they get a rate hike when the price of oil is at an. All time. Low
We trust you Ascendant, and we are sure you have only our best interests at heart. You guys rock!
The last paragraph is absolute nonsense, OIL will not stay the same!!! I as everyone knows am pro business but in this case what Belco is trying to do needs to be put on hold!!! Hotels are going to take a huge hit on their costs and let’s not forget grocery stores!!! In the end we Joe public are going to get hit real hard with this!!! We cannot keep allowing costs on things such as belco and health insurance sky rocket way above the price of inflation!!! We are already on the brink of being the next Greece or Puerto Rico and we can’t print money to get out of it!!! I say hell no on this one for now!! Belco had years to prepare for this and they didn’t??? Belco because of its taking the easy route folded everytime over the years to their union ( biu ) and just quietly kept sticking us with price increases ( when will those that support the unions understand this?? ) Next the government ( and I don’t care which one it is ) because they have folded everytime is going to be raising fees and taxes as well!!! Enough is enough, we need to stop the price increase madness, now!!! Or all those that are struggling now are going starve to death, but before they do there will be total chaos in the streets!!!!
So true. One word sums this up…greed. While so many of us work our lives away to survive here.
Belco is. Not part of the biu they have an in house. Union
BELCO workers are not BIU. ESTU a very responsible union. Workers wages and benefits are not what makes electricity so expensive and are a drop in hat of the total costs. Those guys deserve every penny they make, It is a highly skilled and very dangerous job.
Yeah yeah yeah, but the Belco unionized employees are very cozy to the biu aren’t they?? They had no problem in the last dispute ( that had nothing to do with them ) dropping tools and running to help the biu???
I was born at night but not last night!!!
What an idiot you are Kangoocar every time you reply with your hate filled narrow view. You have been threating to leave Bermuda for far too long please just leave already you along with big mouth Donald Trump prove all the time you don’t have to be a smart men to have money SMDH
“if the price of oil remains at current levels” …
This increase is setup perfectly for(BELCO) when oil prices return to anything above the low levels they are currently at.
This is a terrible idea it and is completely self serving, everyone should be worried if it is passed.
Yes, the bill will be lower than the same month last year but still dramatically higher than last month.
The real factor behind BELCO’s attempt to squeeze even more money out of the people of Bermuda; is their failed investments in other areas that have nothing to do with energy instead of up grading it’s power plant. They may talk about alternative power sources that Bermudian should engaged in; but in reality it is the last thing they want to see their captive market engaging in. They just want the rest of us to continue to be hooked on their monopolize control of Bermuda’s electric power supply.
Alvin Williams is 100% correct here. When the going was good BELCo ignored their infrastructure just as BTC did. Now they have no choice but to make upgrades, they want to pass their poor planning expenses off on the public.
Shame on you Ascendant; NO!!!!!!!!
Again well said Alvin and Tolerate. The Ascendant Group was formed by the BELCO board and shareholders to invest “their” profits. Their greed and mismanagement has caught up with them and they now want us to pay the price for their failures. Everyone who is against this proposed increase should submit their objections to the Energy Commission, not just post their opinions here.
However, if the price of oil remains at current levels, all customers using the same amount of electricity as they did in September 2014, even with the increase, would still see a lower total bill compared with one-year ago.”
“The changes would increase the monthly bill for the average residential customer using 600 kWh per month by approximately 7.8%, those using less would have less of an increase.
These two statements seem contradictory. Even if oil stays the same, highly unlikely, the 7.8% increase would mean that someone using the same amount of electricity in 2015 as in 2014 would obviously pay 7.8% more.Isn’t that the purpose of the increase? Yes those losing less than 600 kWh per month would have “less of an increase” but nonetheless still an increase.
Correct, and any reduction in the cost of gas will be pocketed by Belco, and any increase will be passed on to the customer. Win win situation…for Belco.
Sure, go ahead and raise the rates… this company has promoted saving electricity through energy saving devices, solar use, etc and then when the sales drop they cry poverty and want to charge more so their shareholders can continue to live their same lavish lifestyles… NO. DIG IN JUST LIKE THE REST OF US HAVE HAD TO DO! GRIN AND BARE IT!
… and if this government dares to vote okay, I hope every person on the island remembers to vote for “OTHER” during the next election. IT’S ENOUGH ALREADY
Poor people fed up!!!!!!!!
No no no no…. Go borrow money from a financial institution to improve the physical plant…. NO.
can’t believe that you all agree on an issue – so far
Wow a column where everyone agrees. This is history being made LOL.
Go ahead belco. This should surely help get rid of some more expatriates….”taking our jobs!!!”
Indeed, cost of doing business here may become unsustainable. But sadly more likely to keep the regular professionals away. God help the non-Re-insurance people – the teachers, police, even regular professionals.
Omg!! Belco lost money on their investments!! That’s how free enterprise works! You win some you lose some. They show no sympathy when they shut off struggling people’s electricity when they lose their jobs, but we’re suppose to sympathize with them when they’ve made poor investments. They are a monopoly. They need to suck it up and find a way to work through their expenses rather then ask the public for another dime.
Wow!Comments on both sides of the street speaking the same language hmmm ,I guess the enemy of my enemy IS my friend.Belco I guess your only friend is the shareholder and they aren’t on the top of anyones happy list for sure.Greed isn’t killing the pig but it sure is choking the (bleep) out of it.
Keep a close eye on alternatives to centralized power generation and having to be connected to the grid. We are not too far away from empowering home owners to cut the Belco cord. Tesla’s battery factory, micro generation plants and residential fuel cells plus ever decreasing costs of solar move us closer and closer to never having to pay another Belco bill again (and that includes having to pay a rental fee to have their meters on our properties).
UMI is seeking public support for its renewable energy master plan that will reduce power generation rates, and make Bermuda energy independent. The master plan is an alternative to BELCO’s plans, and they will not have to raise rates to build a new plant for LNG….and their old plant can be decommissioned all together!
UMI is currently waiting to meet with the government to discuss this proposed 200MW deployment, with the hopes we can begin work this year!
http://bernews.com/2015/06/new-200-mw-power-plant-bermudas-power-needs/#comment-2939259
One of the worst places in the world to live when it comes to power for your home. Cost us way to high, last year we was in the top 5 most expensive place in the world for KWPH. So sad. To bad Belco doesnt have any real compo.