Caye Caulker Chronicles

Caye Caulker excluded from Belize Water Services’ reduction rate

Source: http://www.amandala.com.bz/index.php?id=12165

Just over a week ago, we reported to you that although the Belize Water Services (BWS), a government-owned utility, had submitted its rate application asking for water tariffs to remain the same, Prime Minister Dean Barrow had signaled to our newspaper that he has indicated that he believes there is room to give consumers an ease on their water bills.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) announced this evening, Monday, that it has conducted an initial review of the BWS application made December 23, 2011, and the PUC’s initial decision calls for a 7.2% reduction in water rates from April 1, 2012, to March 31, 2015, for all branches, except for Caye Caulker.

Barrow had told us almost two weeks ago that he had said to the chairman of BWS, Herman Longsworth, that if the PUC were to summon him, “I would tell the PUC to carry down the rates.”

The Prime Minister told us that he is hopeful that the PUC will shave something off the water rates for consumers.

Meanwhile, the PUC says that if “BWS and/or qualified interested parties representing users of at least 10% of the annual amount of water supplied by BWS in the preceding year” have any comments on the initial decision, they can submit them in writing by February 7, 2012.

If no one objects, the initial decision becomes final.

The PUC has also ruled that light bills should go down an average of 6.14%. This can take effect as early as February 1, due to a recent statutory instrument passed by the Government.

BEL, another nationalized utility, has signaled, though, that it does not entirely agree with the PUC’s decision to drop rates to that level. The company had initially proposed a 3.4% decrease in average rates.

Source: http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=15450

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION APPROVES DECREASE IN WATER RATES

January 23, 2012

The Public Utilities Commission has approved an average seven point two percent reduction in water rates. On December 23, 2011 Belize Water Services Limited applied to the PUC for an annual review proceeding. In its application BWS submitted that it was not seeking any changes in the existing tariffs. However in its initial decision issued today the PUC approved a decrease of seven point two percent for the remainder of the full tariff period which is from April 1 of this year to March 31, 2015. This is applicable to all consumers except for Caye Caulker. The PUC is inviting BWSL or qualified interested parties to submit written comments on the decision by February 7. If no objections are submitted the PUC will deliver a final decision adopting its initial decision. You can find the PUC’s initial decision can be found at the PUC office or on the website at www.puc.bz.

PUC CHAIRMAN EXPLAINS DECREASE IN WATER RATES

January 24, 2012

The Public Utilities Commission, PUC, today presented its decision on water rates for the Belize Water Services Limited, BWSL. The PUC’s Chairman, John Avery, said at a press conference this afternoon that the decision was based on a number of factors, including the Approved Regulated Asset Value, or RAV for short.

John Avery – Chairman, PUC
“The investments that we had approved in the full tariff proceeding and which accommodations was made in the RAF to include those adjustments, BWS has not quite kept up to the investment schedule and so we had to recalculate the RAV because of that and because of that and for the next four years the RAV was actually reduced. Having set a new rate of return, having recalculated the RAV and having recalculated corrections to be applied in the next three years, we then had to recalculate the total revenues that would be deserving to BWS and based on those revenues that we determined and the forecast consumption for the period, we used those to determine what the average tariff would be for the next three years.”

BWSL has not performed as well as forecasts had projected in certain areas, as Avery outlined.

John Avery – Chairman, PUC
“The sales forecast we had to again scale back somewhat. BWS has not quite matched the sales forecast that was approved. A big part of that we believe being because they did not make the investments that we had approved. The majority of the investments that we had approved were intended to increase storage in the various branches of BWS or to increase their production capacity. We believe these two things would make more water available particularly during peak periods where you tend to get slightly lower pressure. Those would serve to increase the pressure in those times and should ultimately have resulted in increased sales to BWS. The thing is the more water BWS sells, the lower the per unit cost and customers would have benefited because BWS would have sold more water then perhaps going forward we could have even lower rates. Unfortunately BWS did not meet all the investments that we had approved. For the first two years of the full tariff period we expect them to achieve about 50% of the investments we had approved.”

While the rates for the rest of the country will be reduced, Caye Caulker residents will continue to pay the same rates, while a new formula will be worked out for those living on San Pedro, according to Avery. Like the process with the Belize Electricity Limited, Avery said that BWSL has a fifteen-day period within which they can respond. Meanwhile, with respect to the PUC’s decision about the 6.14 percent reduction in electricity rates, Avery says that BEL still has time to object to that decision. In any of the two utility companies, if they or any interested party that consumes ten percent of more of their product objects to the PUC’s decision, then an independent expert must be commissioned to review the figures and make recommendations, which the PUC would then have to consider before it makes its final decision.