Consumers of electricity in Dominica will have to dig deeper in their pockets when they receive their bills for the month of June.
That’s because, according to commercial manager of DOMLEC (the sole provider of electricity on the island), Paul Moses there has been an increase in fuel surcharge.
“The fuel surcharge is a component of the customer’s bill,” he explained. “In January when we started, the fuel surcharge was at 38 cents, that’s 38 cents per kilowatt hour. For May, it had gone up to 68 cents. When bills are sent out for June, it will be 73 cents. So it give you an idea of how much fuel prices have increased this year.”
According to Moses, in January 2021, the fuel surcharge was 23 cents per kilowatt hour.
“Now compare January of 2021 with May of 2022, from 23 cents to 68 cents,” he stated. “And as I indicated for the month of June, it’s going to be 73 cents once it is applied to customers bill. And that is almost three times, in fact just over three times as much when you compare the fuel surcharge for June of 2022 with January of 2021.”
In March this year the government of Dominica announced that it had regain majority share in DOMLEC, a move that Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said aligns with the country’s goals to build resilience in the energy sector through deliberate action to improve energy security and strengthen growth and economic prospects.
He said his government did not want to create the illusion to customers that assuming majority ownership of DOMLEC, will immediately translate to lower electricity bills.
“But we are preparing the foundation for that,” he remarked.
