| Electricity Rates Going Down |
By BBC Caribbean
July 19, 2007
........................................................................................................................................ |
| The Dominica government says it's taking action to reduce the high cost of electricity on the island. |
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit in his budget address this week, announced that the excise tax on fuel would be reduced by 50 percent.
Mr. Skerrit said excise tax was charged on all fuel imported into the country and was an important revenue earner for the government, and it couldn't entertain |
 |
| suggestions to remove it completely. |
| Prime Minister Skerrit said while such action would result in a twelve percent reduction in the bill of consumers, it would mean a nine million EC dollar loss for the government. |
| "However, in an effort to bring relief to consumers Government will reduce the excise tax on fuel used by Domlec by 50%. This will reduce electricity bills by approximately 6 percent," he told parliament. |
| The high electricity rates have been a source of friction between the Skerrit-led Labour Party government and the part-foreign owned Domlec, the island's lone electricity company. |
| The two have blamed each other for the high rates. |
| Another area of contention between the two has been arrears owed to the electricity company by the government. |
| Prime Minister Skerrit said his government had been addressing that matter. |
| "At the beginning of fiscal year 2006/07, the outstanding arrears to Domlec stood at 4.7 million EC dollars. I am proud to report, Madam Speaker, that all outstanding arrears to Domlec have now been cleared," the prime minister confirmed in the House. |
|
 |
| latest news |
|
|
| |
|
