PHILIPSBURG--The Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) has finalised preliminary findings in its review of utilities company GEBE’s fuel-cost calculations and has opened an inquiry involving fuel supplier SOL, Tourism, Minister of Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten said Wednesday.
Speaking during the live Council of Ministers press briefing, Heyliger-Marten said BTP is independently reviewing GEBE’s fuel prices and the way those prices were calculated and ultimately charged to consumers.
BTP has received the information needed to examine the fuel charge for January through June of this year, including the period when the charge reached approximately 49 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The preliminary work identified areas requiring further examination, including supplier markups, fuel-pricing structures, regional price comparisons and how electricity costs associated with water production were allocated.
SOL requested additional time to provide documentation requested by BTP. That extension was granted, with a new deadline of October 15. BTP will assess the additional information as part of its ongoing independent inquiry before reaching its final conclusions.
Heyliger-Marten also addressed the confidentiality agreement between BTP and GEBE. She said the agreement allows BTP to examine commercially sensitive information, including contracts, invoices and supplier information, while protecting information that is legally or commercially confidential. “Confidentiality will not become a shield from accountability,” Heyliger-Marten said.
She said the public should ultimately understand what the review found, what the findings mean for electricity bills and what action will follow.
The minister said she could not responsibly promise a refund or announce an amount before the independent review is completed. However, she said government is already examining available options.
If the final findings establish that money is owed or consumers are entitled to an adjustment, government will pursue lawful mechanisms to ensure that benefit reaches consumers, whether through credits, adjustments or another appropriate measure.
At the same time, Heyliger-Marten said government wants to establish a system that protects consumers going forward.
BTP’s specialised legal and technical teams remain on schedule to deliver a draft National Decree containing General Measures, the LBham, by the end of November. The minister said this would provide the foundation for a binding, long-term tariff framework under which electricity rates and fuel charges can be reviewed and regulated in a clear, consistent and accountable manner.
Heyliger-Marten said she understands that people have bills due now, but said she would rather allow the review to be completed properly than rush the process or make promises that are not supported by the evidence.
