Georgetown: Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has called on Guyanese to view the tariff increase proposed by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc., as one that is coming after five years of no adjustment, during which time oil prices had risen by about 60 percent.
The cost of oil constitutes about 80 percent of the cost of providing electricity.
The power company has been facing dire financial constraints over the past few years as a result of high technical and commercial losses, and this position has been compounded with the opposition slashing of its $5.2b subsidy by the parliamentary opposition.
As such, it has made a proposal to institute a 26.7 percent tariff increase, which has been submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
The new rates have not yet taken effect but the GPL board is actively engaged in planning its implementation.
At present, the average price per kilowatt hour is $63 and with the 26.7 percent increase the new rate will be about $80 per kilowatt hour.
The Prime Minister, who has responsibility for the electricity sector, said that GPL has been foregoing the increase in tariffs that it ought to have been receiving.
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