Fuel Factor Dropping; Gov’t & FortisTCI stabilization ends December 31

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, December 23, 2022 – Six months after TCI islanders were handed massive electricity bills and warned they would continue to go up because of increased oil prices, Fortis TCI has some welcomed news: the rate is going down just as the government’s $2.5 million intervention winds down.

A 15 per cent decrease was recorded for customers in November as oil prices continue to fall across the globe and the energy company says that rate will hold steady for December as well with the possibility of even more decreases for some islands.

“This general fuel price trend is expected to continue into January 2023 but with slight changes across some service territories.  Providenciales, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos customers will see a slight increase in the fuel factor rate on January’s electricity bills compared to the previous month. Grand Turk and Salt Cay customers are projected to receive another decrease in the fuel factor rate, creating a three-month-streak.  These projections are subject to change based on volatility in the fuel market.”

The company explained, maintaining that the government’s Fuel Factor Stabilization plan helped tremendously “Fuel factor rates reached their highest in September and October 2022. The FortisTCI and TCIG fuel factor stabilization initiative helped to insulate residential customers from the impact of the volatility in the market during this period.”

The Turks and Caicos is not the only country benefiting from a decrease in oil prices; the US saw the slowest increase in inflation in recent months and as Christmas approaches fuel prices are down all around and gas prices in the country have dropped to the lowest prices in a year and a half.

This is excellent news for the Turks and Caicos which gets its fuel from the United States.

Magnetic Media also reported, based on a consumer study, that prices at the pumps in the TCI were the lowest they had been since March promising some relief for customers at both ends of the energy prices.

While the government has extended the duty exemption on bread basket items there has been no word yet on what will be done for the Fuel Factor Stabilization credit which has had a hand in the lower electric bills.

That will expire at the end of this year.