BELCO Announce Electricity Rate/Bill Changes

[Updated] Starting on August 1st 2026, BELCO’s electricity rates “will be restructured and customer bills redesigned” and “rates will now be unbundled for greater transparency,” the company announced today.

A spokesperson said, “Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited [BELCO] today announced that from 1 August 2026 BELCO’s electricity rates will be restructured and customer bills redesigned as directed and approved by the Regulatory Authority. The changes are guided by two key priorities, greater transparency for customers, and a fairer sharing of costs.

“Rates will now be unbundled for greater transparency. Usage and demand charges previously bundled to reflect the total cost to generate and deliver electricity to customer homes will be separated out to show what customers pay for the generation of their electricity [generation charges] and what they pay for the transmission and distribution of it [transmission and distribution charges]. This enables customers to see how their rate divides between the cost of generating, and transmitting and distributing, the electricity they use.

“The rates themselves have been adjusted, most notably the facilities charge, to be more cost-reflective of the service provided to each customer.

“Customers who both self-generate and consume energy from the grid use the system differently from those who only require electricity to be delivered to their homes. The revised rate structure better aligns charges with actual grid usage, so costs are shared more fairly across all customers.

“The impact varies by customer class and by usage, so the change is not a single across-the-board increase or decrease. For most residential customers who do not have distributed generators [primarily rooftop solar], the change means a modest increase of around $1.62 to $4.72 a month.

“Customers with distributed generators will see a larger increase, primarily in their Facilities Charge, which reflects the increased cost of operating and maintaining a grid that now must carry power to and from their home or business, while maintaining a reliable supply for the entire island.

“A full breakdown of the new rate structures, with tables and worked examples showing how the change affects each type of customer, is available at belco.bm. Customers are also encouraged to visit belco.bm to learn more about energy efficiency tips and practical ways to lower their monthly usage.”

BELCO President Wayne Caines said: “For more than a century, BELCO has been dedicated to providing safe, reliable and affordable energy to our customers. The new rate structure demonstrates our commitment to fairness and transparency and is cost-reflective of the energy provided to our customers. I encourage residents to visit our website to learn more about what this change means for them.”

Update July 10, 11.28am: Minister of Home Affairs Alexa Lightbourne said, “In May 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a Ministerial Direction to the Regulatory Authority under the Regulatory Authority Act 2011. That Direction required fairer and more transparent cost allocation and asked the Authority to consider, within its retail tariff review, differentiated tariff classes for customers who rely on the grid fully, partially, or minimally.

“One year later, action has finally arrived. The unbundling of rates is welcome. Every household and business deserves to see what it pays to generate electricity and what it pays to deliver it. That clarity is long overdue.

“Transparency must not arrive with a higher bill attached. The Ministry commissioned its own review, conducted by a reputable research body, of the impact of distributed generation on other customers. Its findings indicate that residential customers have carried a disproportionate share of the system’s fixed costs for years.

“It is notable that, with that evidence in hand, BELCO and the Regulatory Authority have again found it prudent to raise costs on consumers. A correction of a long-standing imbalance should return value to the customers who carried it.

“To the concerns raised by solar providers, Government policy is settled and consistent. Bermuda needs a growing renewable sector and a fair deal for the grid-reliant household that cannot install panels. Charges that reflect how each customer actually uses the grid serve that fairness.

“At the same time, solar customers have contended for years with a feed-in tariff held low by a flawed calculation at the outset. The public cannot be made to carry the cost of poor regulation, or of mistakes that yield higher prices on them. Fair charges and fair compensation must move together.”

#BELCO #Electricity

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