VINLEC records sales dip in 2013

The conservation campaign of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Electricity Services, may finally be taking root, as the company recorded a dip in electricity sales last year.{{more}}

CEO Thornley Myers told the media last week Thursday that last year, the utility company sold less electricity than in the previous year.

The press conference was called to announce that VINLEC would be absorbing the cost of increased fuel surcharges, brought about by the loss of their hydro power plants during the December floods.

“For the second time in our living memory, was the second time in 40 years that we’ve had reduction in electricity sale from one year to the next,” Myers said.

“The first time that occurred was in 2007. Last year we had a situation where electricity sales in 2013 was less than it was in 2012, so clearly whatever is happening in society is also impacting VINLEC.”

Myers said that the company’s ten-year conservation drive might have played an important part in the power sales cut.

Last year, the company conducted a three month long exhibition highlighting a number of commercial energy saving appliances, equipment, and practices.

The CEO indicated that while that may be a great thing, he would like to see a surge in electricity sales, that is brought about by increasing development in the country, instead of increase through individuals or businesses’ careless use of electricity.

“In any society that is developing, a measure of development is the per capita consumption of electricity and all of us here would like to see that increase, but not increase as a result of wastage. We want to see that increase in per capita consumption of electricity.

“We want to see that… there comes a factory that employs 200 persons and uses electricity, there comes a hotel that employs 400 persons, in that way the per capita consumption of electricity increases. The society is better off because the hotel or the factory employs persons and there is a spill off in the economy. We would like to ses an increase in electricity but it must not be as a result of wastage.”