The reduction in the fuel factor rate that customers received on November's electricity bills will remain relatively stable in December, with further reductions across some service territories, light and power company Fortis said in a news release.
According to Fortis, the fuel factor rate on November's electricity bills decreased by 15% to $0.2587 from $0.3048 per kilowatt hour ("kWh") for Providenciales, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos customers, and this rate will remain relatively stable on December's electricity bills.
The fuel factor rate for Grand Turk and Salt Cay customers, Fortis stated, decreased by 4% to $0.2773 per kWh from $0.2889 on November's electricity bills and a further decrease is projected on December's electricity bills due to a decline in fuel costs.
The energy company stated that fuel factor rate for South Caicos decreased from the prior month's $0.2815 by 2% and projections for December's electricity bill will be shared once the information becomes available. It noted that current fuel factor rate projections reflect that customers will see a reduced or relatively stable fuel factor rate on their December electricity bill.
“This general fuel price trend is expected to continue into January 2023, but with slight changes across some service territories. Providenciales, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos customers will see a slight increase in the fuel factor rate on January's electricity bills compared to the previous month.
“Grand Turk and Salt Cay customers are projected to receive another decrease in the fuel factor rate, creating a three-month-streak. These projections are subject to change based on volatility in the fuel market,” the Fortis release said.
It further noted that fuel factor rates reached their highest in September and October 2022. The FortisTCI and TCIG fuel factor stabilization initiative helped to insulate residential customers from the impact of the volatility in the market during this period.
The arrangement set a fixed price for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity used for the last four months of the year. Residential customers will continue to be billed at a fixed cost of $0.20 per kilowatt hour ("kWh") for the fuel factor rate on their December electricity bill.
“December is the final month in which the fuel factor stabilization credit will be in effect, based on the current arrangement with TCI Government. Electricity bills at the end of January will return to the standard fuel factor rate calculation.
“Fuel factor rates are authenticated by the TCI Government's Energy and Utility Commissioner's Office every month before the release of bills,” Fortis noted.