BVI News

Premier hints BVIEC subsidy may end soon, urges go-green route

The government’s subsidy on the ‘fuel surcharge’ component of consumers’ electricity bills may soon come to an end.

This was the indication given by Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley at a recent press conference over whether his government will continue to subsidise the high electricity rates beyond the end of this year.

The government agreed to offer a subsidy on the electricity bills for residents – 50 percent for the months of October and November and another 100 percent for December – after months of complaints over escalating bills.

It has also consistently been argued by the government that the high cost of fuel has played a significant role in the rising cost of electricity locally.

“I know that people all over the world are experiencing high prices, but certainly I would love to see the price of the electricity be lowered because, of course, it’s only so much subsidisation you’ll be able to do,” Premier Wheatley said.

In the meantime, Dr Wheatley said a continuation of the subsidy for residents will depend on available resources. He further advised that people should instead consider going into the alternative energy market.

“We’ll have to examine (whether to continue the electricity subsidy) moving forward based on the resources that we have available, but certainly I think we have to get very aggressive about going into alternative energy because, of course, we couldn’t afford to subsidise throughout the whole year, for instance,” Dr Wheatley stated.

The Premier argued that the fluctuating price of fuel is one of the justifications for going into alternative energy and added that renewable energy sources such as the sun and wind are free and should be utilised properly.

“We’d be able to provide a little bit more resilience into our energy sector, we provide a little bit more stability, a little bit more predictability, and I think this is the way that we all have to go,” he said.

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6 Comments

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  1. ???? says:

    go green lol come better then that need real solution

    Like 4
    Dislike 1
  2. WEW says:

    Broke-No money. Sl**ande just can’t say what we already know

    Like 2
    Dislike 1
  3. hmm says:

    I do not understand why my bill keep going up every month. every month it just keep going up. even though we cut down and try to save the bill still keep going up.

  4. Go Green? says:

    What do you think powers those windmills and such? Electricity! They don’t fully operate on wind alone. Oil is used to operate the moving mechanisms. Windmills are a farce. Do your research people and stop believing only what you are told!

    Like 2
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  5. Licher and Sticker says:

    Sl** Wande is a f&ck!ng idiot. So can he tell us what he will do to get government operations running better and able to pay the bills that they haven’t paid for years. The surcharge is nothing but an inefficiency tax where we pick up the short change from the government not paying its bill. Why is Sow Wande the minister of finance; why is he even in government. He know less than …

    Like 3
    Dislike 1
  6. Serious times says:

    This Premier is a complete joker. When you don’t have business experience but running a country it is not good. I doubt this man even had a check book before he became the Premier and Minister of Finance. We are really in one big mess in the BVI.

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