Electricity price hike delayed [1]
Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 18:11. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
A decision on whether the price of electricity will go up or not will not be known until April 6, said the Chief Executive Officer of Tonga Power Ltd, Peter McGill.
He told Matangi Tonga Online yesterday, March 9 that a Board Meeting with the Minister for Public Enterprises, Hon. Clive Edwards has been scheduled for April 6, and following that meeting a public announcement would be made.
Peter said there was no negotiation involved and he did not want to elaborate on what they would be discussing in the April 6 meeting.
Price hike
Toward the end of February Tonga Power announced that price of electricity would go up to compensate an increase in the price of oil.
The endorsement by the Electricity Commission of a rise in the price of electricity was stopped by the Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano.
At the time it became public knowledge that there was a proposal for government to subsidise the price of electricity. It accepted that it was inevitable for the price of electricity to go up because of a rise in the price of oil, but because of the current depressed state of the economy the intention was to ease the financial burden on the consumers.
Since the end of February there has been no public announcement with regards to the proposed hike in the price of electricity. The good news is that there will be no rise for another month, until the Board Meeting with the Minister for Public Enterprises on April 6.