BUSINESS MONDAY: Light bill reprieve

BARBADIANS hit hard by the high cost of living are getting a reprieve with another decline in light bills based on the falling fuel clause adjustment (FCA).

The Barbados Light and Power Company Limited is reporting that the FCA for the month of November 2019 has dropped to 25.5386 cents per kilowatt hour from the 27.4609 cents per kilowatt hour reported for October.

That 27.4609 cents represented a decline from the 28.9062 cents in September.

The FCA mechanism is used by the Light and Power Company to recover the cost of fuel in the generation of electricity and is similar to many electric utilities across the world.

In May this year, the FCA reached a high of 32.1180 cents per kilowatt hour, reflecting at the time the higher cost of the imported fuel.

The rate of inflation was 2.5 per cent at the end of September this year compared to 5.2 per cent registered a year earlier.

The Central Bank said that the removal of the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) and stable international food and energy prices tempered the inflation rate.

However, the impact of the falloff in rainfall on vegetable production and the scarcity of fish and other seafood placed upward pressure on food prices in the third quarter of this year.

“Increased transportation and utility costs also impacted overall prices over the period,” the Bank added.