The Energy Bureau has approved an increase in the electricity bill that will take effect immediately

He Puerto Rico Energy Bureau approved a 0.81 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) increase in the electricity bill to be implemented in the first quarter of the year (January to March).

For a non-subsidized residential customer of the Authority for electricity (AEE), with an average consumption of 800 kWh per month, the impact will be an additional $ 6.52 or 4.7% compared to the last quarter of 2020 (October to December). From $ 138.77 you paid then, you will now pay $ 145.29.

The cost of the kWh went up from 17.3 cents to 18.1 cents.

The Energy Bureau approved the increase on December 31. In a resolution and order of the regulator, of which The new day obtained a copy, it is explained that the increase is in line with the adjustment clauses for the purchase of fuel and energy for the period from September to November 2020.

In other words, PREPA underestimated its spend between September and November 2020, so it will now get the money back by charging it to its subscribers.

“The Energy Bureau understood that the costs presented to us by the Authority for September, October and November were reasonable and that reconciliation was possible,” Deputy Commissioner Ángel Rivera de la Cruz said in an interview with this newspaper.

The consumer representative in the PREPA Board of Directors, Tomás Torres, explained that the increase has been approved by the Energy Bureau responds to the fact that the price of a barrel of oil “has risen” after the steep fall in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As (the price of a barrel of oil) normalizes worldwide, (the electricity bill) is going up little by little, but it can’t be a major problem,” Torres said, recalling that at the start of the pandemic, the cost per kWh were 22 cents.

By law, PREPA must submit its projections of income and expenditure to the Energy Bureau every quarter, adjusted to the price of a barrel of oil. The regulatory body reconciles the figures submitted by PREPA. For example, the process allows if the difference between the estimates and the actual cost of fuel and energy purchases exceeds $ 20 million, the factors can be re-evaluated and re-calculated for the remainder of the quarter.

In its resolution of December 31 The Energy Bureau has suspended the alignment of the adjustment clauses for fuel and energy purchases for June, July and August 2020 due to “multiple inconsistencies” between the costs PREPA allegedly incurred and the market price. for that period. PREPA was supposed to deliver a new reconciliation last Friday, January 15.

Commissioner Rivera de la Cruz indicated that PREPA has requested additional time, until tomorrow, Wednesday, at noon, to provide the required data, after which the negotiating party can reconcile.

This given, Torres asked the Energy Bureau to stop the walk approved for January, February and March. “No increase is warranted until the fuel supply issues with the Electric Power Authority have been clarified and resolved,” he said.