Up to 18% fuel factor rate decrease says FortisTCI

Dana Malcolm  

Staff Writer  

#TurksandCaicos, March 31, 2023 – The fuel factor rate for the March electricity bills from Fortis TCI has dropped by as much as 18 percent in some parts of the Turks and Caicos; the announcement, a welcome one for residents, was made by the electricity company on Tuesday, March 28th. 

Last July, FortisTCI fingered the fuel factor rate, informed directly by the rising cost of fuel globally, as the reason behind shocking, in some cases doubled increases in bills that many residents protested.  The fuel factor is confirmed by the Government before it can be passed on to residents and informs the raising and lessening of all electricity bills no matter the usage.  

Fortis says the decline in global fuel prices is what has driven the fuel factor down so dramatically.  

The islands enjoying the largest decrease of 18 percent are Providenciales, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos, as their fuel factor rate decreased from $0.2623 to $0.2141 per kilowatt hour.  Grand Turk and Salt Cay customers got a double digit decrease as well with 13 percent shaved off of their prices; from $0.2576 per kWh to $0.2218 on their March electricity bills. 

Electricity bills got so high that the Government had to step in and partner with Fortis TCI to provide the Fuel Factor Stabilization Credit, which capped electricity prices at $0.20 per kilowatt hour for four months.  That credit was not renewed when it expired in December, but Fortis TCI had comforted residents with the assurance that the rate would continue to go down and it has.  

During the life of the Stabilization Credit, which got a Government allocation of $3 million, residents reported saving hundreds of dollars each month on their power bills.