Electricity consumers – many of whom are already complaining about high September bills – can brace for even higher bills in October.
That’s because the fuel surcharge is continuing to climb.
The Corporation announced in its latest published graph on Monday that the fuel surcharge would be 11.8995 cents per kilowatt-hour; that’s up from 10.8217cents in September.
The surcharge also compares to 8.8882 cents per kilowatt-hour in October 2005. The surcharge has seen for the most part a steady climb since it was 4.6237 cents per kilowatt-hour in February 2005, although it has shown slight drops during some months, eventually climbing again.
BEC officials once again reminded that your electricity bill is made up of the basic rate, which is constant and has not changed since October 2003, and the fuel surcharge, which is based on the price of petroleum in the international market and is calculated using a fixed formula.
At its highest point last year, the fuel surcharge reached 11.9818 cents per kilowatt-hour in December then dipped in January.
While consumers will be paying a higher fuel surcharge in October, they are now seeing lower prices at gasoline and diesel pumps.
In some cases, a gallon of gasoline has dropped from $4.74 to $3.84.
On the national scale, concerns persist though about the impact still high oil prices could have on the local economy.
In its August 2006 economic report released on Monday, the Central Bank said the growth in the domestic economy is expected to remain favourable for the balance of 2006, supported by strong domestic demand and tourism-related foreign investments, which are positively impacting construction sector activity.
“Nevertheless, the potential for oil price increases remains a critical factor which will influence domestic economic conditions for the remainder of 2006,” the report warned.
That same report said oil prices were reduced by 5.7 percent to $70.03 per barrel in August from $74.24 per barrel, following OPECﾒs decision to augment production levels, combined with the easing of geopolitical developments, which calmed market sentiment.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
