Linden to pay more for power from July 1 – Dr Luncheon

The Donald Ramotar administration will go ahead with its plans to hike electricity tariffs in Linden from July 1, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon announced last Thursday.
This latest announcement comes against the acrimonious fallout between the government and the combined opposition over several issues, some of which have landed them in court. The opposition had protested the increase when it was first announced back in March during the national budget and then there was a cooling-off period. It is unclear what moves the combined opposition will be making to block the increase which they had vowed to do initially.

Speaking at his weekly Cabinet media briefing, Dr Luncheon said the tariff would begin at the starting of July, but did not outline how this would be done. He said however, that government was still working out the formula.  He added that government’s reduction in the subsidy for Linden electricity from around Gy$3 billion to Gy$1.8 billion has made the increase necessary.
The planned hike in electricity tariffs has attracted the ire of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which swept the region at last year’s general and regional elections. At a meeting between the APNU and the government back in April, it was revealed that the two sides agreed to have residents of the mining town pay the same electricity rates as the rest of the country. As a trade-off, government agreed to free up the broadcast spectrum to allow television stations seen in Georgetown and on the coast to be available to the Linden residents.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds had told the National Assembly that the tariff adjustment would proceed and would be done through “gradualism and selectivity”, so that vulnerable residents of Region 10 would be cushioned. The prime minister, who also has responsibility for the energy sector, stated that those customers would only pay half of the bill as calculated for the rest of the year.
He said discussion had focused on Linden and what could be done “to ease and make good the transition of Linden… into a regular Guyanese town, and the greater inclusion and participation of all of Region 10 into the programmes and fortunes of Guyana as a whole; more specifically, the matter of Linden electricity tariffs along with other issues relating to Linden were discussed”.
He continued: “In relation to electricity tariffs, it was agreed that alignment with the Guyana Power and Light’s tariffs and elimination of the Linden electricity subsidy was necessary. It was also agreed that the tariff adjustment will proceed from 2012, guided by the principles of gradualism and selectivity, with the transition to the aligned tariffs being introduced in a differential manner that cushioned the impact on the most vulnerable customers.”
It was also agreed that the first stage of tariff adjustment would be implemented along the outlines and in a manner that would ensure adherence to the allocation provided in the 2012 budget, with budgetary constraints in mind.
He noted too that bauxite pensioners will receive the first 100KWh each month free and pay for half of whatever is over that amount for the rest of the year. He said too that to increase economic activity in Linden, government will explore ways and means for the establishment of more small businesses. On that note, Hinds said the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) would be reactivated to ensure that there is reasonable access to financing by small entrepreneurs in Region 10.