Grenada Electricity Services Ltd (Grenlec) is notifying customers about 2 important changes to the electricity billing structure.
These 2 new components are being implemented by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), which has the authority under the Electricity Act to determine the electricity tariff-setting methodology.
The first change, the Renewable Energy (RE) Charge, was implemented on 1 October 2023. It reflects the impact of electricity supplied to all customers from renewable energy sources in the same way that the impact of fossil fuel generation is shown as the Fuel Charge.
Think about it as Grenlec supplying energy from 2 sources to all customers. A portion is supplied by the traditional diesel engines (billed as the fuel charge) and the remaining portion is supplied by RE sources (billed as the RE charge).
The second change, the Fuel Adjustment Clause (FAC), will take effect on 1 November 2023. The fuel adjustment clause is a mechanism designed to pass on any variations between Grenlec’s actual fuel costs and the amount customers were charged for fuel in a timely manner. This difference between the amount Grenlec pays for fuel and the amount customers are charged results from the 3-month average used to calculate the customer fuel charge.
In practical terms, when world fuel prices are rising, the actual fuel costs paid by Grenlec are higher than what customers are charged and the FAC is used to recover the difference from customers in the next billing period. Conversely, when world fuel prices are falling, the actual fuel costs paid by Grenlec are lower than what customers are charged and the FAC is used to credit the difference back to customers in the next billing period.
While the implementation of the FAC has benefits for both customers and Grenlec, customers are asked to note that the change introduces the possibility of sharp upward or downward movements in the customer fuel charge from month to month.
The Renewable Energy Charge and Fuel Adjustment Clause are part of the Interim Electricity Tariff, which was published in the Gazette on 1 September 2023.
The 2 new components, which apply to all customers, will be shown in the Summary of Charges section in the left column of the electricity bill.
For further information, please visit our website at grenlec.com, contact us at [email protected] or any of our Customer Care Centres.
Grenlec
It’s got to be costing us more, if only to pay for the algotithm to work out the split between diesel and sunshine.
With all that’s been said I have not heard a word from Grenlec about assisting some of their paying customers by making it easier for them to discuss issues with staff members directly in the parish of St Patrick’s and St Marks .
All those customers have to travel miles just to see a member of staff ,some have to take two buses and maybe a day off work.
I think as National owned business they should seriously try harder in reaching out to those customers with putting an office in one of those parish..ie St Patrick’s which would help all those customers to save on travel/time off work and at the same time ease the pressure on the Grenville office staff.