BVIEC’s profits have not gone up — Smith
Days after several elected officials complained about the high cost of electricity in the territory, General Manager of the BVI Electricity Corporation Neil Smith explained that the electricity company has not been realising increased profits off the backs of its customers.
For residents worried about the increases in the fuel surcharge component of their electric bills, Smith said the power company has faced rising fuel costs as well as increased consumption over the past few years from consumers, particularly during the most recent summer.
“People have also built bigger homes and are consuming more electricity than before and especially during this last summer, I know that a lot of individuals have been using their air conditioning units,” Smith said in a recent JTV interview.
Smith expressed that he would not describe the recent high usage as excessive, but noted that more power was consumed likely as a result of the recent heat wave that the territory has been experiencing.
“So those two factors together – continuous increase in the price of fuel plus the extra use of energy by consumers – has contributed to the bills going up,” Smith stated.
He added: “ On the BVIEC’s production side, our profits have not gone up, per unit, and that should be noted.”
Smith explained that what customers have been seeing is a combination of the additional usage plus the cost of fuel and said this is fundamentally why the bills have increased.
The power company further noted that the most recent bills showed a fuel surcharge of roughly $0.20, but said previous months, such as October 2022 have had even higher surcharge rates such as $0.24.
When asked whether the company could consider absorbing some of its fuel surcharges, Smith suggested that this may put the BVIEC out of business.
“To do that would cut into our profitability, or ability to be financially viable is what I should say,” the General Manager said. “Because we’re not here to be a profit-making machine, really. So if we are to absorb more of that fuel cost, you’re actually cutting into our ability to be financially viable.”
He also pointed out that rates have not increased since the inception of the corporation. “If you account for inflation, essentially what happened in real terms, our rates actually decreased over the years,” he explained.
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Thanks for the “We have No Plan”.
The plan you need to have is stop wasting unnecessarily leaving electrical supplies in when not using or get a damn ice box for your meat and turn off the breaker when you leaving your home.
You want plan well tek plan!
So the plan is to not use electricity. I never imagined over at BVIEC they were such geniuses. Great for the environment, and they promote the plan with unscheduled outages.
You pay for what you consume. PERIOD!
Tis donkey yeeaaarrrssss they have no plan. Plans now putting in place
But constant black out and the bills keep going up.
The biggest mistake is to put this man as head of BVIEC. Big mistake
We must be the only country in the world which has never put up its basic unit rate since inception. People still refuse to understand what the fuel surcharge is for. Time for BVIEC to increase the unit charge, and lower the fuel charge. How many more times am I going to have to explain this?
F**king clown. They are not making a profit but they are pulling numbers out of their a** to keep the clown show running. Why are you signing long-term fuel supply contracts and then still shafting people? This month the fuel surcharge was the same as the bill itself. HOW??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is clear that the fuel charge is a plug figure. Its being used to allocate the short-fall in revenue to the public.
You just mad you don’t have the job.
the BVI government, does not pay the BVIEC for electricity so of course this public company will soon become a NO profit company no matter what fuel surcharge is added to all the other consumers monthly bills.
government pays electricity thus this statement sent factual
All of you is nothing more than a bunch of complacent WUSSES in high positions. Always the same CHIDDY CHIDDY BS! Talk, Talk as usual. So what else is new in Freaking Forth World CHIDDY, CHIDDY BANG, BANG TORTOLA. Shut the get out already MANNN.
All I want to know is why my utility bill was $375.00 for the Month of September and jumped to $483.62 for the month of October. I live alone and is at work all day, I even ask my dog and cat, LOL if they be having a burn my electricity party when I am not home. LOL, they look at me like I was crazy or something. The utility company is making thousands of dollars a day and they don’t have the decency to give the customers a credit towards their account for the inconvenience they face when the power is constantly going off.
I do not accept that. The company and those that work for it have NO desire to drive prices down. To negotiate better fuel rates. To invest in their equipment….the people are there for a paycheck. They should NEVER have allowed a private company to ‘front’ as a government entity. At the end of the day…. There are investors involved who make money from this.
Because electricity bill definitely gone up. They kept putting these smart people in these position who sees the public as fools. No respect for the public. it’s always a story..
How about publishing audited financial reports instead of just lying?
He is correct. The fuel charge is the issue. The tariff rates haven’t changed. Examine your bills.