Impact of cheaper PetroCaribe fuel will be reflected on January 2023 bill – VINLEC

The full impact of cheaper fuel purchased under the PetroCaribe agreement will not be reflected on consumers’ electricity bills until January 2023.

A release from St Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) on November 4 said under the most recent PetroCaribe arrangement, fuel is being supplied to the Lowmans Bay  Power Station at a discounted rate.

“The Lowmans Bay plant accounts for approximately 55 – 60 per cent  of the fuel used to generate electricity in the country,” the release said.

The first shipment of fuel under this  arrangement arrived in St Vincent and the Grenadines on October 22, 2022.

“The full impact of the cheaper fuel will be reflected in January 2023 bill, as the Company continues  to use fuel from a previous stock to generate electricity.

“The savings, as a consequence of the  PetroCaribe arrangement, will be reflected in the fuel surcharge calculations and will result in a  projected reduction of approximately $0.10 based on present market rates for fuel.”

The release said VINLEC and the  Government of  St Vincent and the Grenadines “have sought to ease the burden to customers caused by the rising  costs of fuel globally.

“These measures included injecting funds to lower the Fuel Surcharge rate from $0.7252 per kWh  to $0.6579 per kWh in June 2022, followed by an increase in the Value Added Tax threshold from  150kWh to 250kWh for domestic consumers,” the release said.

“VINLEC remains committed to providing a safe and reliable service to our customers. We  continue to encourage customers who can, to try their utmost best to conserve electricity as this  will assist in mitigating the impact of the high monthly fuel cost.

“Customers who have queries are  encouraged to contact the Customer Services Department via email at  customerservices@vinlec.com, telephone 456-1701 Ext. 237, 238 or via Facebook – facebook.com/VINLECSVG,” the release from VINLEC said.