Government’s programme to help lower electricity costs for consumers during the hot summer months will launch in August, when electricity provider Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) starts billing for the month of July.
The fuel relief programme aims to dampen the effect of global fuel price inflation during July, August and September when local electricity consumption is peaking.
Only residential CUC customers are eligible to benefit, provided their monthly electricity use is higher than 101 kilowatt hours (kWh) and does not exceed 2,000 kWh.
The average household consumes about 1,100 kWh each month, although energy use tends to be higher during the summer.
Customer can see their monthly consumption for the past year on each of their bill statements, or online at MyCUC, to determine if they qualify.
CUC advised customers that typically use slightly more than 2,000 kWh to try to conserve energy to become eligible for the subsidy credit.
The cost of diesel fuel used by CUC to generate most of the island’s electricity jumped by more than 4 cents from CI$0.163 in June to CI$0.205 per kWh in July.
The fuel relief programme will lower this cost to $0.15 cents per kWh for all electricity used from 1 July.
This means consumers can receive up to $110 in monthly credit depending on how much energy they use. On average, the fuel credit will lower the July bill for CUC’s residential customers by about 15.5% to 15.75%.
For CUC customers who qualify, government’s fuel subsidy amount will be automatically deducted and reflected on their bills.
Residential households that consume more than 2,000 kWh in July can still be eligible in August or September, if their energy use drops below the threshold during those months.
Related Videos
