NIA Injects Millions Into NEVLEC to Provide Consumers With Relief on Electricity Fuel Surcharge
Charlestown, Nevis, August 09, 2022 (NIA) — The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) has committed to a monthly subvention to the Nevis Electricity Company Limited (NEVLEC) in order to cap the increasing fuel surcharge on electricity bills, in an effort to bring relief to consumers on the island.
The NIA has over the past several months made a concerted effort to mitigate the effect of the increasing cost of fuel on consumers. In March of 2022, NEVLEC invested EC $16, 555,733 to acquire a new 3.8megawatt Wärtsilä generator at the Prospect Power Plant which is significantly more fuel-efficient than its existing engines.
Premier Brantley also noted that in September of 2021 NEVLEC introduced the use of a six-month rolling average of the actual price of fuel to calculate the price of fuel surcharge, a mechanism which helped to level out the wide fluctuations in the price of fuel.
“NEVLEC has by so doing sought to create a cushion so that the customers do not have to absorb the full impact of the fuel surcharge. Incidentally, I think that I should point out to you that that policy of NEVLEC has in the last year cost NEVLEC in excess of $3.1 million by way of subsidy. So even though the bill is high and we acknowledge that it is high and we apologize for it is high, it would have been even higher had NEVLEC not absorbed some $3.1 million of that.”
The Premier urged members of the public to conserve energy in order to reduce electricity consumption in their homes. NEVLEC has provided some conservation tips for residential consumers including using compact fluorescent bulbs which are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs; turning off the lights in any room you are not using, and ironing large batches of clothing at one time to avoid wasting energy reheating the iron several times.