~ High GEBE bills haunting consumers ~
PHILIPSBURG--The removal of the fuel clause was a hoax, National Alliance leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin said on Sunday.
He said the electricity bills continued to increase and "haunt the people of St. Maarten" and this was an issue "plaguing" every household in St. Maarten. "People are crying out every day," Marlin said in an interview with radio personality Lloyd Richardson on PJD2 1300AM.
"The ministers [of Economic Affairs Franklin Meyers and Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams] came out and promised that something will be done and they have given instructions to GEBE and the whole nine yards, but whenever a reporter asks a question then government would say something to make the people feel that government is doing something. But the removal of the fuel clause was just a hoax," Marlin said.
"I had made a clear statement back then when I said the Prime Minister in essence lied to the public of St. Maarten and here we see it. August and September have gone and the price of electricity continues to haunt the people of St. Maarten."
Utilities company GEBE introduced its conditional new tariff structure as conditionally approved by Meyers on August 1.
The fuel clause under the new tariff system reflects the actual fuel component, while all other cost is in the base rate. The new base rate is NAf. 0.29 per kilowatt hour (kWh) and the fixed charge increased from NAf. 17.50 to NAf. 29 for regular households and from NAf. 4.75 to NAf. 7.25 for small households.
The net effect will be that with rising fuel prices, the fuel clause will increase less than under the old tariff system.
The new tariff structure is based on an extensive study that was carried out by internationally-renowned consultant KEMA in close consultation with the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure.
The study took place between 2009 and 2010 and the final report was submitted to GEBE management in March 2010. The main directive with respect to the study was for the consultant to study GEBE operations and what it costs to run the company, especially looking at the fuel that has to be purchased abroad to supply the generators and keep them operational.
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