Wednesday 24 September
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Foreign Trade Minister
Positive US Will Grant
An Extension On The TLC
ICE Requests
Electrical Rate Increase Of Up To 56%
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Rica Executive's Hot
Phone Plan
Stocks Close
Higher In Costa Rica, Lower In Panama,
Flat In El Salvador
Babcock Genetics' Costa
Rican Partnership
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ICE Requests Electrical
Rate Increase Of Up To
56%
Residential customers
can expected a whopping
increase of 30% on their
electrical bills if the
proposal by the
Instituto Costarricense
de Electricidad (ICE) is
accepted. In real terms
the increase will mean
an additional ¢3.000
colones monthly for the
consumption of an
average fo 200 KWh or
less, which costs today
¢10.000.
In some cases the
increase is even higher
as the Autoridad
Reguladora de Servicios
Públicos (Aresep)
studies the proposal by
ICE to increase as much
as 46% for high
consumers of
electricity.
In the case of 455.000
customers of the
Compañía Nacional de
Fuerza y Luz (CNFL) - an
ICE subsidiary - the
increase is as high as
56%.
Francisco Garro,
director of electricity
demands at ICE,
explained that increase
is to cover increases in
operational costs,
maintenance, and fuels
for 2009.
Garro added that he
recognizes that the
requested increase is
high, however, defending
the request by saying
that the ICE has
received increases in
the past that have not
met the financial needs
of the institution.
The director de energía
de la Aresep, Álvaro
Barrantes, explained
that there are external
factors, like the rise
in fuel prices, that
have affected ICE, but
there is also internal
waste.
ICE officials are
expecting the proposal
to be approved and be in
effect in January 2009. |
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