Report on T&TEC rate increases still before Cabinet, JSC hears

Photo: Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.

The report on the proposed electricity rate increases is still before the Cabinet for consideration.

This, from public sector officials who were asked for an update on the status of the report on the impending rate increases for the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) when they appeared before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament on Wednesday.

No representatives from T&TEC were present at the meeting to give any insight into the rate increases which were expected to have been implemented last year. Only key personnel from the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) and Ministry of Public Utilities were called before the JSC.

JSC member Jayanti Lutchmedial-Ramdial noted that $1.5 million had been spent on the consultations and questioned whether the recommendations held the same validity two years later.

RIC Chairman Dawn Callender said the Commission’s involvement doesn’t extend past the recommendations in the report before the Cabinet so it was not in a position to provide any update on the status of the the proposals. 

She said: “As the RIC, we try to be as independent as possible from the work of the Ministry, Cabinet and all of that…it’s not something that we follow up on with them to ask them what is happening. A lot of the information we read in the press as other members of the public. 

To the best of our knowledge, it is still before Cabinet as was said by the Minister of Public Utilities within the last four months or so.” 

As for the validity of the proposed rate increases, she said without the implementation of the adjusted rates, T&TEC would stand to gain less by way of collection.

Meanwhile, Nicolette Duke, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, said to her knowledge the rate hike proposal was still before Cabinet. Beyond that, she said she had no further details.

“The document has been the subject of a Cabinet note and is still before the Cabinet for consideration,” she said.

Asked by Committee Chair Sunity Maharaj if it was unusual for such a matter to be before Cabinet for as long as it has been, Duke said she couldn’t give any opinions on what a typical timeframe should look like.

“…different matters take different lengths of time, and I am not a sitting member of Cabinet. I don’t know what the impacts of one note will have on another so I cannot opine on whether it is reasonable or not,” Duke answered.

JSC member Khadijah Ameen suggested that the rate increases were not likely to be implemented in an election year, calling it a “political matter” as Cabinet still played a role in its determination.  

She labelled it as “unfortunate” that the personnel who would be in a position to answer such questions were not a part of the proceedings.

Ameen suggested that the rate increases were likely a consideration for implementation post-election, a claim that Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales has previously denied.

The Regulated Industries Commission late 2022 unveiled proposals for increased electricity rates for residential and commercial customers. The RIC is mandated to review rates and charges for services every five years.

Stakeholder consultations were conducted but to date, there’s been no meaningful update on the status of the proposed rate hikes.