VINLEC spends $13 million more on fuel than 2004

If fuel prices continue to skyrocket on the World Market, St.Vincent Electricity Services Ltd (VINLEC) will spend in excess of $40 million on fuel this year.

This is the prediction of Thornley Myers, Chief Executive Officer of VINLEC.

“This is not only a burden to VINLEC, a burden to our customers but also a burden to our country,” said Myers, adding that “when we look at the situation in St.Vincent it is difficult when in the space of two years you can move from $18.5 million to over $40 million in fuel”.{{more}}

He said this is going to have a ripple effect on the society.

Last year VINLEC spent $13 million more on fuel than it had spent the previous year.

In 2001 $16 million was spent on fuel, 2002 the cost was $15 million, 2003, $18.5 million, 2004, $24 million, 2005, and $37.2 million.

And at the end of March VINLEC had already spent $9 million on fuel.

Myers appealed to customers to conserve electricity, and reduce waste of resources. “The more of this we can keep in our country the better it is for us as Vincentians,” Myers emphasized.

Besides using fuel to produce electricity, VINLEC also uses energy produced from its hydro plants. So far this year, the hydro plants have been affected by the dry weather.

It was just in January that hydro production stood at 29 per cent of the total electricity generated leaving 71 percent to fuel production. Recently, however 29 percent was reduced to about 18 per cent and according to Myers, hydro energy production is now virtually nonexistent.

“I don’t think we are getting anything really and if there is anything we are getting from the plant it is extremely small,” he stressed.

“It has been in decline and this is April, we expect further decline,” Myers predicted.

While VINLEC will continue to spread the message of conservation in 2006, it plans to take a different approach to that used in 2005.

VINLEC this year will concentrate its efforts on a more comprehensive radio programme spanning 10 minutes in which a branded campaign will be developed on radio to deal with regular issues.

Also, the utility company will stage a greater visual presence by erecting billboards to re-inforce and demonstrate to Vincentians how much they can save by replacing their incandescent bulbs with the compact energy saving bulbs from Cuba.

The company intends to explore different ways of helping Vincentians to conserve and to prevent its message from becoming monotonous.