Sint Eustatius – Eilandsraadslid Koos Sneek wil dat regeringscommissaris Alida Francis onderzoek doet naar de stijging van de elektriciteitstarieven en de wijze waarop het lokale energiebedrijf daarmee in de praktijk omgaat:
Dear Ms. Francis,
Attachment is my Dec STUCO electricity bill as example. The bill covers the period Nov 30 – Dec 30. However, my meter was read on Christmas Day, Dec 25th and I guess by many others as well. The fact that the bill is substantially lower than previous months is for me also proof that not the full month has been charged. This has me very concerned, not just for me but for the community in general.
Reading the meter by STUCO a week before the end of the year, means that the usage of this last week of December will be added to the January bill against the increased rate. This in my opinion is wrong and not justifiable. Usage in the month of December should be charged against the tariff of December, not against the tariff of January.
On top of this, the temporary Corona subsidy for the capacity cost has ended at the end of December, which means that as of January this amount has to be paid by the consumer again.
And last but not least the ACM (Authoriteit Consument en Markt) has raised the maximum tariffs for water and electricity. The maximum tariff for electricity will go up from 0,32 USD/kWh to 0.36 USD/kWh, an increase of no less then 12.5%. The maximum tariff for water will increase from 6,73 USD/m3 to 8,62 USD/m3, an increase of USD 1.89 or no less than 28%. As I mentioned, this concerns maximum tariffs, but customarily STUCO always charges the maximum allowed tariffs.
What bothers me with STUCO, that contrary to Saba Electricity Company, our utilities company does not have the decency to inform their clients about the higher rates they will charge, but they will only find this out when their January electricity and water bills will be delivered.
I urgently request you to look into above mentioned practices of STUCO. I also want you to look into the negative effect these higher utility bills will have on the household budgets of the people of Statia, taking into consideration the intentions mentioned in the governing program of the national government to reduce the cost of living, while the opposite is taking place.
Sincerely,
Nicolaas Sneek
Faction Sneek