GREAT BAY, St. Maarten – The Bureau Telecommunications and Post has completed what Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten described as an extensive forensic recalculation of GEBE’s fuel-cost recovery and tariff calculations for January through June 2026, with preliminary findings already presented to the Council of Ministers.
BTP is now finalizing its regulatory findings as part of a wider review of GEBE’s fuel costs, tariff methodology and billing calculations. The Minister said the investigation is intended to provide an independent technical assessment of the costs being passed on to electricity consumers and determine whether adjustments or remedies may ultimately be required.
Heyliger-Marten also made clear that a Non-Disclosure Agreement between BTP and GEBE will not prevent Parliament or the public from being informed about the outcome of the investigation.
According to Heyliger-Marten, BTP requires access to commercially sensitive GEBE information, including invoices, supplier pricing, contracts and other financial and operational records, to independently verify fuel costs, tariffs and billing calculations.
The NDA protects that underlying confidential information while allowing BTP to carry out its regulatory responsibilities, she explained. It does not prevent BTP from communicating its findings, conclusions or recommended remedies.
“The NDA allows BTP to get behind the numbers. It does not prevent BTP from telling us what it found,” the Minister told Parliament.
She said Parliament will receive the relevant findings concerning fuel-clause calculations, identified variances and recommended remedies once the regulatory process is completed. A public version can also explain what BTP found, what the findings mean for consumers and what Government intends to do in response, while legally protected commercial information remains confidential.
BTP completed recalculation for January through June
The work examined GEBE’s calculations using three approaches: GEBE’s existing methodology and operational data, a market-based recalculation using regional Heavy Fuel Oil and Light Fuel Oil benchmarks, and a fair-market assessment examining supplier premiums against relevant market benchmarks.
A substantial volume of data has already been collected and analyzed, and the existing fuel-clause mechanism has been reviewed.
BTP is continuing work on the base-rate calculation, an inquiry into SOL rates, the regulatory framework governing rates, a ministerial rate-approval model and a framework governing the publication of utility-rate information.
The objective, according to the Minister, is to establish a more transparent and reliable system governing how utility rates are calculated, reviewed, approved and communicated to the public.
49-cent fuel clause under review
Heyliger-Marten confirmed that BTP has received sufficient information to independently verify the fuel-clause calculations covering January through June 2026, including the period when the billed fuel-clause rate reached approximately Cg. 0.49 per kilowatt-hour.
The information available to BTP includes procurement, production and generation data, fuel invoices and supplier-premium information.
While initial technical recalculations and comparisons against international market benchmarks have been completed, the Minister stressed that BTP has not yet issued its final regulatory determination.
She disclosed, however, that the preliminary analysis identified areas requiring additional scrutiny, particularly how energy costs associated with water desalination were allocated and how supplier markups were applied.
BTP has also initiated a formal regulatory inquiry with the fuel supplier concerning those pricing structures.
The Minister said it would be premature to release unfinalized figures while the regulatory proceeding and supplier inquiries remain active. Once BTP completes the process, she said, the final conclusions, calculated variances and resulting remedies will be provided to Parliament.
Review examining supplier premiums and Seven Seas Water
The final assessment is expected to examine GEBE’s fuel procurement costs, fuel-clause methodology, cost-of-service considerations and the underlying tariff structure.
This includes reconciling fuel consumed with costs passed on to consumers, assessing supplier premiums against market benchmarks and determining whether there was any over-recovery or under-recovery during the period under investigation.
The review will also examine structural cross-subsidies, including the treatment of energy consumption connected to Seven Seas Water desalination operations.
BTP is expected to make recommendations concerning future fuel procurement practices and the methodology used to calculate the fuel clause.
Consumer credits and rate reductions among possible remedies
The Minister also addressed what could happen if BTP ultimately determines that consumers were improperly charged.
Possible regulatory mechanisms include credits to customer accounts, reductions in future rates or other billing adjustments.
Heyliger-Marten stressed that Government does not manage GEBE’s daily operations and cannot determine the remedy before BTP completes its regulatory assessment. Government and BTP are, however, already reviewing the enforcement mechanisms available within the existing legal and concession framework.
She said Government must respect due process and should not promise refunds or other measures based on figures that have not yet been formally verified.
If BTP’s final determination establishes that consumers were improperly charged, however, the Minister said Government would use the powers available under the concession framework to ensure that required adjustments benefit electricity consumers.
“My commitment to the public is absolute. This Government stands firmly on the side of fairness and transparency for the consumer,” Heyliger-Marten told Parliament.
No system-wide meter testing conducted
The Minister also provided information from GEBE concerning questions about electricity and water meter accuracy.
GEBE reported that no comprehensive system-wide meter testing exercise was conducted, meaning there is no total number of electricity or water meters tested or recalibrated across the system.
GEBE’s digital SMART meters are factory-calibrated before installation. Individual meters can later be investigated or field-tested when a complaint or Investigation Order is initiated.
There is currently no fixed schedule requiring every installed SMART meter to undergo periodic field testing or recalibration.
Where questions arise, GEBE’s Technical Department can conduct inspections and technical measurements, use a control or reference meter and, in electricity cases, use an electrical analyzer.
GEBE indicated that once its Advanced Metering Infrastructure system is fully operational, automated alerts and exception reporting should assist the company in identifying meters or installations that require further investigation.
Both overbilling and underbilling have occurred
GEBE did not provide a confirmed number of meters found to be inaccurate or defective during 2026.
The company did confirm that individual investigations have resulted in both adjustments in favor of customers and cases in which customers were found to have been underbilled.
Where an investigation establishes that incorrect metering affected a bill, the customer's account is adjusted under GEBE’s procedures and General Terms and Conditions. Customers who were overcharged receive a credit, while amounts can also be added to accounts where an investigation establishes underbilling.
GEBE has not provided a consolidated financial figure showing the overall impact of meter discrepancies during 2026, nor has it provided a confirmed number of affected consumers.
Determining those totals would require a review of the Investigation Orders and associated Change Orders for the year.
Broader regulatory reform underway
Beyond the ongoing investigation, Heyliger-Marten said Government is seeking stronger regulatory oversight and greater transparency surrounding utility rates.
BTP’s work is intended to provide Government with an independent technical basis for assessing GEBE’s fuel costs, tariff methodology and billing practices rather than relying solely on calculations supplied by the utility.
The Minister said commercially confidential documents can remain protected while the findings affecting consumers are communicated openly.
The final BTP determination is therefore expected to play a central role in deciding whether corrections are required, what form those corrections should take and how the country regulates and publishes utility-rate information going forward.
