WILLEMSTAD – Households in Curaçao will face significantly higher electricity and water rates starting October 1, with electricity increasing by approximately 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour across residential consumption categories and water rising by nearly 71 cents per cubic meter.
For households consuming up to 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, the rate will increase from just over XCG 0.63 to just under XCG 0.70 per kWh.
For consumption between 250 and 350 kWh, the rate will rise from almost XCG 0.74 to just over XCG 0.80 per kWh. Households consuming more than 350 kWh will pay just under XCG 0.85, compared with slightly more than XCG 0.78 currently.
The increase amounts to approximately XCG 0.065 per kWh across the different consumption categories.
Water customers will see an even more pronounced increase.
For the first nine cubic meters consumed each month, the rate will rise from approximately XCG 8.40 to slightly more than XCG 9.11 per cubic meter.
Consumption between nine and 12 cubic meters will cost approximately XCG 14.26 per cubic meter, while the rate between 12 and 20 cubic meters will increase to approximately XCG 16.20. Consumption above 20 cubic meters will cost nearly XCG 18.17 per cubic meter.
That represents an increase of almost XCG 0.71 per cubic meter across all water consumption categories.
According to the government, the higher electricity tariffs are driven by increased average fuel costs for power generation combined with a slight increase in the correction factor for August.
The October calculation also anticipates greater use of more expensive fuel and lower production from wind energy.
Regulations limit the monthly increase in the average electricity tariff to a maximum of 10 percent. As a result, not all of the calculated increase will be passed on to consumers in October. The remaining portion will instead be carried forward to November.
The latest adjustment represents a significant reversal from electricity prices earlier this year. The lowest residential tariff stood at just under XCG 0.59 per kWh in May. After fluctuating over the following months, it reached slightly more than XCG 0.63 in September. October will bring the largest monthly increase during that period.
The change in water rates is even more noticeable. Since May, the rate for the first nine cubic meters had remained around XCG 8.30 to XCG 8.40 per cubic meter and even declined slightly in September.
Starting in October, however, nearly 71 cents will be added to the price per cubic meter. The government attributed the increase to higher electricity costs associated with water production and a higher correction factor for August.
Consumers could also continue feeling the effects of the current increase in November. Because the full calculated electricity adjustment cannot be implemented in October due to the 10-percent limit, part of the higher costs will be reflected in the following month's tariff calculation.