Gov’t to cover 50% fuel surcharge on Electricity during holidays
This comes as part of its ongoing commitment to alleviate the financial burden on residents which will see the government covering 50% of fuel surcharge associated with electricity bills from the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC).
“With the holiday season fast approaching, the Government of the Virgin Islands understands the importance of supporting our residents during a time of heightened energy consumption. By covering the fuel surcharge, we aim to ease the financial strain on individuals and families in our community,” a joint statement from the BVIEC and the Communications and Works Ministry noted.
The 50% surcharge initiative was announced yesterday, December 1, 2023, at a time when the current Works Minister, Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5) was Acting Premier with sources indicating that the initiative is through the Finance Ministry but falls under the Ministry of Communications & Works.
Initiative expected to bring some relief to residents
This fuel surcharge relief initiative will directly benefit residential customers of electricity bills. The government will cover 50% of the fuel surcharge portion of the bill, providing residents with some extra financial breathing room throughout the month of December 2023.
The Government of the VI has allocated a dedicated fund to cover this 50% of fuel surcharge. This initiative is part of our ongoing efforts to support our citizens and lessen the financial impact of increased fuel consumption.
The statement noted that residential customers will automatically have the 50% of the fuel surcharge portion of their BVIEC bill paid by the Government with no need to apply separately or submit any additional documentation.
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15 Responses to “Gov’t to cover 50% fuel surcharge on Electricity during holidays”
the sum of money that the people paid from January thru November(more than covers a discounted payment
Tell the same ViP administration to pay some of the outstanding government bills
A little candy for xmas
I prefer to pay less all year round
If they paid their bills like the rest of us have to electricity rates maybe could come down.
The skyrocketing cost of living is painful and there is a false belief that government has the magic wand to bring it down instantaneously by demanding that merchants bring prices below market and profitable margins. Well, truth be told the BVI has a capitalist system and government does not have direct control over businesses. For example, it is widely believed that government can set price ceilings or price control on merchants. It does not. Even if government were to go against the norm and the grain and insert price controls, shortages and poor quality will result.
The bottomline is there is not much government can do to immediately impact the skyrocketing cost of living. What little can government do? It can a) reduce customs duty. This will require a delicate balance between collecting revenue to deliver services and providing direct help to long suffering consumers, b) it can reduce payroll taxes, c) raised the exempted income level from taxes, b) government using the power of persuasion to get merchants to lower prices and profit margins. This is a long, long shots with the greedy merchants. The 50% fuel surcharge for December is a little help but very temporary. One of the function of government is to provide economic security, and to provide economic assistance. Another blogger(s) had a suggestion of providing a temporary Universal Basic Income (UBI) cost of living allocation . The suggested allocation would be means tested, ie, not every resident would qualify for the allocation. The UBI seems a reasonable and practical temporary assistance program. Leadership sometimes in rough seas and rainy and cloudy and high winds times requires bold actions. Making decisions when its it is sunny and waters are calm is as easy as counting 1-2-3.
Why is there a fuel surcharge? Did the fuel supplier contract not agree to supply fuel at a fix cost per gallon or barrel? If the fuel price were to go down does the fuel contractor lower the cost to the BVIEC which is then passed on to the consumers?