Government making arrangements to assist electricity consumers in arrears

Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas (Photo by Erasmus Williams)

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTTS, MAY 12TH 2012 (CUOPM) – Persons in arrears with the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) will soon get some relief in clearing the debt.

This was disclosed by the Federation’s Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, who told listeners to this weekly radio programme “Ask the Prime Minister” on Tuesday that the government will also continue to seriously tackle the transition from fossil fuel to green energy.

He pointed out that the electricity bills are in two parts – firstly a bill that expresses what is currently to be paid based on usage for the previous month and secondly, the large arrears that have been accumulated by consumers over the months and years.

“The government intends to concentrate on the arrears. What is it that we can meaningfully do to ease the burden of the arrears that are outstanding and which may be impacting on the policy of SKELEC in terms of having the arrears collected.

“What has to be done in terms of moving forward in terms of the cost of electricity for the service provided for what is currently used,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

Stating that the arrears owed must still be paid, Dr. Douglas said that the government is in the process of putting together a package that will assist eligible consumers in paying off the arrears owed to SKELEC and at the same time remaining current and connected to the electricity service.

Prime Minister Douglas said the government in collaboration with the St. Kitts Electricity Company will soon be in a position to announce the arrangements for the relief.

Dr. Douglas said the arrears will continue to be collected as there is a policy is in place that thecompany is using.

He said the high cost of electricity can only be reduced through conservation and forging ahead with the utilisation of alternative energy.

“We want to encourage consumers with government incentives to move further and further away from their own dependence on fossil fuel energy,” said Dr. Douglas.

Government he said will continue to pursue other sources of energy including wind, solar and geothermal.