‘Can Expect Increase In Their Energy Bills’

July 1, 2022

BELCO said “customers can expect to see an increase in their energy bills beginning with the July billing cycle” which is “as a result of rising fuel prices and a consequential adjustment made to the Fuel Adjustment Rate [FAR].”

The company’s website said, “Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited [BELCO] customers can expect to see an increase in their energy bills beginning with the July billing cycle. This increase is as a result of rising fuel prices and a consequential adjustment made to the Fuel Adjustment Rate [FAR].

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“The FAR for the quarter commencing on July 1, 2022, will be 20.12 cents per kilowatt hour which is an increase from the previous FAR of 18.90 cents per kilowatt-hour sold for the April to June 2022 quarter.

“The FAR, which is approved by the Bermuda Regulatory Authority [RA], reflects the total cost to deliver fuel to BELCO’s central plant and is comprised of two parts – the fuel adjustment and Bermuda Government taxes.

“The fuel adjustment is based on the total cost of procuring fuel and includes shipping cost, supplier profit margin, local receipt, handling, storage and transport via pipeline from Ferry Reach to the BELCO Central Plant.

“The second part of the FAR is comprised of two separate Government taxes. Currently the Government charges $31.79 per barrel of fuel in addition to a tax of $0.40 per barrel of fuel which provides funding for the St. George’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“Once the total cost of fuel is determined, considering the various costs outlined above, the FAR is calculated by dividing the forecasted total fuel consumption by the cost of fuel. The fuel adjustment charge is calculated by multiplying the FAR with a consumer’s total kilowatt-hour [kWh] energy usage.

“The FAR is calculated quarterly and rises and falls as the purchase price of BELCO’s fuel rises and falls. The quarterly adjustment in the FAR is published by the RA and reflected in customers’ bills in the next billing cycle.

“The FAR is a cost recovery mechanism and all cost increases as well as any savings due to a reduction in BELCO fuel costs are passed on to customers.

“We remain committed to transitioning to a renewable energy company and are working diligently towards integrating alternative power generating technologies, including solar, and exploring the efficacy of integrating offshore wind turbines into our energy mix.

“Longer term, this will reduce our dependency on fossil fuel and will reduce our exposure to price shocks in the oil market. Whilst this isn’t possible at the present time, we at BELCO are focused on and have made great progress on improving efficiencies and system reliabilities and it is unfortunate that these will be negatively impacted by the substantial increase in fuel costs.

“BELCO customers can learn more about the FAR as well as tips on energy efficiency and ways to reduce their bill at www.belco.bm.”

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Comments (7)

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  1. wipes says:

    Aren’t you all so glad that you voted to give this government overwhelming control of the government so that they would have no obstacles in place to make good on their campaign promises. They promised to lower the price of food, increase jobs, stomp out serious crime, lower health insurance costs, create a tech hub, lead the world in cryptocurrency jobs, get the Casinos up and running, improve education, lower the countries debt, balance the books, improve the roads, transportation, lowering the cost of living and so much more. So many were happy to hear that a former politician would hold a key position at BELCO. That would mean we would have someone connected to government that could work with government to ensure costs to continue to go down. We now officially have the HIGHEST cost of living IN THE WORLD. I don’t even have to talk about the rest of the campaign promises. Thank you all so much. You should be proud.

  2. aceboy says:

    Rising fuel prices?!?

    But but…I thought the brilliance of burt waved his magic wand and decided fuel prices won’t rise:

    https://bernews.com/2022/03/premier-david-burt-march-2022-fuel-prices/

    Strange.

  3. Malachi says:

    There goes my Pension raise!

  4. Jus' Askin' says:

    UNREAL!!!

  5. Mr.Holiday says:

    just had an increase in April belco is just greedy for years Bermuda has been held ransom by belco
    the fast talking guy talks about renewable energy but i don’t see belco making any moves in that area just a lot of talk talk

  6. Mr.Holiday says:

    belco is greedy

  7. The Report says:

    I don’t live in Bermuda, sad to see energy prices are rising everywhere, not just in the UK.