WILLEMSTAD - From Tuesday, May 4, 2021, the regulated tariff for petrol in Curaçao will increase slightly. The tariff for diesel remains unchanged. The rates for electricity and water will also increase slightly with effect from Saturday 1 May 2021. The Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BT&P) reports this in its monthly press release. BT&P monitors the price developments of oil products and utilities.
Rate calculation for fuel products
The tariff structure of Mogas 95, Gas oil LSD, LPG 20 and LPG 100 has the elements 1. Purchase price, 2. Import tax LSD, 3. Guarantee of fuel supply (1a) 4. Guarantee of fuel supply (1b) 5. Margin Curoil, 6. Excise, 7 Surplus / Deficit (Recovery), 8. Cross-subsidy, 9. Wholesale OB 6%, 10. Dealer margin, and 11. Retail O.B. 6%. For some elements, the zero rate applies - temporarily or otherwise. The wholesale rate includes the first nine elements while the retail rate includes all elements.
The purchase price, which starts the calculation, is determined monthly for the following month based on the available fuel stock at the end of the previous month. The purchase prices used for the month of May 2021 are in principle based on the available fuel stock at the end of March 2021. If the stock information provided by Curoil is insufficient, recent international price quotations will be used. These purchase prices are also checked against the international price quotations. Due to this delay, the differences between the regulated purchase price and the actual purchases in a certain month are always settled afterwards via the element 'Surplus / Shortage'.
The end-user tariff for Mogas 95 increases mainly due to an increase in the purchase price and the surplus / deficit component. The end-user tariff for Gasoil LSD remains (rounded) equal to the end-user tariff for the month of April 2021. This is the result of a decrease in the purchase price and an increase in the surplus / deficit component. Furthermore, the component 'guaranteeing fuel supply 1b' decreased slightly for all fuels.
Tariff calculation for water and electricity
The tariff structure for water and electricity has two components: the basic tariff and the fuel clause. The fuel clause for electricity consists of two elements: purchasing electricity and fuel costs.
The "purchases" are based on the price of energy supplied by third parties, such as wind energy and solar energy, and the fuel costs concern the costs of energy generation by Aqualectra itself. The fuel clause for water also consists of two elements, namely "purchases" based on the price of water supplied by a third party and electricity costs for the water production by Aqualectra itself.
However, the use of the different means of production varies every month, also called "the production mix". The level of the fuel clause is therefore determined monthly by BT&P based on Aqualectra's forecast of what the production mix will be, in this case for the month of May 2021.
If a month later it turns out that the component was too high or too low, it will be corrected. In this case, it concerns the month of March 2021. The basic rate for both water and electricity is determined once a year by BT&P. This rate includes all other (fixed) costs for the production of electricity and water and all costs for their distribution and delivery, such as personnel costs, maintenance costs, depreciation, etc.
The electricity and water tariffs are mainly increasing due to higher correction factors for March 2021 that have been incorporated in the tariffs of May 2021, and for the water tariffs also due to the forecast production mix for May 2021.
Approval and adoption
BT&P advises the Council of Ministers (RvM) on the new rates. Only after the RvM approves the proposal, does the Minister of Economic Development, who is also responsible for energy matters, set the rates. These are the maximum rates that may be used for a month. With this procedure, which takes into account international and local factors, regulator BT&P monitors the continuity and fairness of the supply of fuel, water and electricity to the local population in an independent, transparent manner.
