Finally, Electrical Rates Come Down
Following days of adjournments, the Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
on Wednesday
ordered the approved 7.2% electrical rate
reduction to go into effect as of today.
Judge Grace Loaiza Sánchez, handed down the
decision late Wednesday afternoon, after
rejecting Institutio Costarricense de
Electridad's (ICE) arguments of financial
hardships if the rate reduction approved by
the Autoridad Reguladora de los
Servicios Públicos (Aresep) on August 28th
and to have gone into effect on September 1.
ICE appealed the Aresep approval, arguing
that a rate reduction would seriously affect
the institution's financial position and its
ability to provide continued electrical
service without any interruptions.
At the core of the argument is the fact that
ICE will spend some ¢50 billion colones less
than budgeted for this year on electricity
generation. The Aresep, at the request of
the Camaras de Industrias felt that
consumers should get a break from the ICE
savings.
The rate reduction is applicable to all
electrical services in the country ranging
from 6% to 8.2%, depending on the region,
with an overall average reduction of 7.2%, a
savings of ¢1.400 colones for a family
consuming 300 kilowatt hours a month.
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