Cost of Power Bills tops talks when FortisTCI & Gov’t Energy Team Meets

By Dana Malcolm  

Staff Writer  

#TurksandCaicos, April 3, 2023 – The cost of electricity and the fuel factor calculation on customers’ bills were some of the topics recently discussed in a recent high-level meeting between FortisTCI and the new Commissioner of Energy and Utilities, Delano Arthur. Also discussed was the company’s generation fleet, and capital investment, all topics of great concern to TCI residents.

The announcement came from the electricity company’s representative Nikiria John in a March 30th press release. It indicated that Arthur hit the ground running last week, meeting with the electricity provider to ‘discuss the energy industry and regulatory reform of the sector.’

He met with Ruth Forbes, President and CEO, and several other high-ranking executives of the team. Forbes who is a Turks and Caicos native expressed pleasure at the meeting

“This meeting was an opportunity for us, as the energy provider to the TCI, and the regulator, to build upon prior discussions on charting the way forward for the electricity sector. We welcomed the open and transparent dialogue and the Commissioner’s interest in advancing good-faith negotiations on regulatory reform. We see this as a critical step to support the rapidly evolving energy sector,” she maintained.

Arthur, alongside Dr. Eric Salamanca, energy Analyst, toured the Providenciales Power Plant for a first-hand view of the company’s operations, fuel storage facilities, the mechanical workshop, and the operators’ control center, according to the press release.

With a vote of confidence from the Deputy Governor, Arthur’s appointment was announced in January, at which point the second-generation Turks and Caicos Islander had expressed that he was “grateful to be part of the team that will pioneer the way in strengthening the Regulatory Regime for Energy and Utilities.”