The Government of the Virgin Islands has allocated new funds to assist Virgin Islanders in paying off their monthly electricity bills without breaking the bank.
The announcement was made by Acting Premier, Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Kye Rymer in a recent statement.
Rymer assured Virgin Islanders that the Government has not turned a blind eye to the issue of increasingly expensive electricity costs in the Territory, adding that legislators themselves are not immune to the issue and are also facing higher bills in their private lives.
The Acting Premier said that in response to the issue, the Cabinet has “allocated some funds to help to lower residential electricity bills. Government will be subsidising 50% of the fuel oil surcharge on residential electricity bills for the months of October and November 2022, and for the month of December 2022 the subsidy will be 100% of the fuel oil surcharge for residential electricity bills.”
Rymer noted that despite the Schedule of Additional Provisions being approved by the Cabinet 3 weeks ago, and then passed in the House of Assembly about a week later, it has taken a bit of time to put certain necessary measures in place to allow implementation.
He said it is the hope of the Government “that this measure will ease the burden of our residents as we navigate through these difficult times caused by global events”.
Reflecting on recent years, Rymer said that, much like in the Territory, the commencement of the COVID 19 Pandemic prompted significant disruptions in supply chains and a rise in the costs of goods and services across the globe – a situation which has been exacerbated by geo-political conflicts between Russia and Ukraine.
“Those who follow international news would be aware that the cry in almost every country has been the high prices consumers face for nearly every commodity and service, especially those that involve imports.
Some of you would have seen the news in the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, where people have been struggling and cannot pay high fuel prices for their vehicles and electrical bills.
Practically no one has been spared. And the Virgin Islands, has not been exempted nor immune to these international developments”, he said.
The issue of rising electricity costs in particular he said has been a result of developments in the global fuel market, and is not the fault of the BVI Electricity Corporation – whose bill calculations, he added, are guided by a set legislation.
“We are all aware that since the Russia-Ukraine war escalated in February 2022, electricity bills began to increase dramatically. This has been no fault of the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC). It has been the result of the high cost of fossil fuels on the international market. The formula for calculating electricity bills is set in legislation. Electricity bills have three major components in their calculation. First, there is a flat $2.50 per month for the service. Second, there are standard charges based on the quantity of energy consumed. The third component is the fuel oil surcharge, which is tied to the price of fuel; and oil prices have risen to record high levels since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict”, Rymer explained.