RA Fee Increase To Be Applied Starting In May
The RA fee increase, as mandated by the RA, will be applied to bills beginning on May 1st, BELCO advised today.
A spokesperson said, “Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited [BELCO] has advised customers that the Bermuda Regulatory Authority [RA] announced on Wednesday, April 14 that electricity fees paid to the RA [‘RA fee’] will temporarily increase.
“The RA said in a press release posted on their website on April 14, 2021 that the RA fee increase from $0.00475 per kilowatt hour [kwh] to $0.00635 per kwh became effective April 1, 2021, and will be used to fund a series of wind studies.
“The RA fee is a pass-through fee levied by the RA to fund their operations and is shown on customers’ billing statements.
“While the RA fee increase, as mandated by the RA, is retroactive to April 1, 2021 BELCO has determined that it will not pass-through this additional charge to customers for the month of April but it will be applied beginning May 1st to allow an ample notification period for BELCO’s customers.”
BELCO President Wayne Caines said: “At BELCO, we are very much in support of and are working toward the goals of the Integrated Resources Plan [IRP] to achieve 85% renewable energy generation by 2035. Our continued focus is to ensure we have the most efficient and resilient infrastructure thus enabling Bermuda to achieve a sustainable energy future.”
The announcement by RA Chief Executive Denton Williams said: “A lack of funding in the previous fiscal year hampered the development of the IRP’s wind-farm project. The first phase for the procurement of the wind-farm is expected to be completed within two years’ time and includes a series of desktop and meteorological studies.”
Yet another “hidden” tax. Why don’t the RA go and take a long walk.
Thanks PLP. 30-6.
A 33% increase in fees. What possible justification could there be?
As previously said by someone, why should the public pay for Belco to do a wind study. That’s for the Bda. Govt. to do and if it’s a go then the group that gets the contract (hopefully not Belco) has to reimburse Govt. for the study costs. Also who is going to monitor Belco’s expenses. Lots of 1st class airline tickets to go abroad – who knows how may times. Crock of s…
The RA raising rates for an inflated bunch that are there now and what have they given us. Not competitive rates for the telecom sector, no reduction in electricity rates. Just more money to pay to say there not going to be able to reduce the electricity costs as all of the plans of grandure in green energy are not feasible. Shut it down.
Excellent news!(sarcasm intended). We need more tax hikes right now during this time to do a study on wind power. A study?
How about we support the solar companies that are already established instead? They haven’t reached anywhere near saturation levels in this market.
Why during the height of a horrible pandemic and economic fallout are they doing a ‘wind ‘ study , just to raise our rates?
People are out of work, others have reduced hours. We cannot keep up with rising rates of everything every other month!
It is getting sickening with the horrid cost of living here, with these big companies making huge profits, wining that they need more money. Life is continuing to get highly stressful because everybody greedily wants more and there is nothing left to give. Good thing we have food charities. We need them more than ever. They help much more than Gov’t ever will.
Can the RA or Belco stop attempting to qualify the future cost of energy as “reducing with renewables” and give Bermuda the specific cost per kWh each year. Surely with 6M a year paid to the RA, 120M for a new power plant that has teething issues and 42M ingrid upgrades (down from 100M previously stated just 2 years ago) , that we can translate the IRP into real terms for all of Bermuda to understand. Is it 1 cent, 2 cents, 3 cents less ? The inconvenient truth may surprise everyone. Only in this way can Bermuda truly see the economic benefit of the IRP. Who will stand up and commit this? The RA? Belco? Minister of energy ? Surely this is available ??
People living in the BELCO plume fallout areas need to have reductions on their bills not increases!
Lived here suffering over 20 Years of pollution-20% off my bill please?