Readers of these columns are well aware that we have always been critical of the undemocratic actions of late Venezuelan President
AS WRENCHING as it may still have been for his mass of supporters around the world, few could claim that Tuesday’s death of
AILING President
Opposition Leader Stephenson King is calling on the St Lucia govern-ment not to join the Venezuelan oil initiative, PetroCaribe, saying it could bring the island into further debt. “Let’s not get involved in this matter. This is not one for the government as it’s not a situation where fuel is being sold to the country at a cheaper rate. The fuel is being sold at the very rate that we are currently purchasing it from Trinidad or elsewhere,” King said. Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony said plans were announced to expand the PetroCaribe pro-gramme under which several Caribbean countries have so far benefited from an estimated US$800 million in investments. Under the initiative launched in 2005, countries receive oil from Venezuela on concessionary terms, and although St Lucia was among regional countries that signed the accord it has not benefited from the initiative. Anthony said he has instructed his energy minister to prepare formal documentation for Cabinet to consider the matter. – CMC Read more: Opposition Leader Stephenson King is calling on the St Lucia govern-ment not to join the Venezuelan oil initiative, PetroCaribe, saying it could bring the island into further debt. “Let’s not get involved in this matter. This is not one for the government as it’s not a situation where fuel is being sold to the country at a cheaper rate. The fuel is being sold at the very rate that we are currently purchasing it from Trinidad or elsewhere,” King said. Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony said plans were announced to expand the PetroCaribe pro-gramme under which several Caribbean countries have so far benefited from an estimated US$800 million in investments. Under the initiative launched in 2005, countries receive oil from Venezuela on concessionary terms, and although St Lucia was among regional countries that signed the accord it has not benefited from the initiative. Anthony said he has instructed his energy minister to prepare formal documentation for Cabinet to consider the matter. – CMC Read more: The St. Lucia government says it will amend existing legislation governing the operations of the St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC), the sole electricity company, as it moves to provide consumers with relief from high electricity rates. “LUCLEC has to understand when there are good times they enjoy the good times but when there are bad times, it too must make the adjustment for the sake of the people of the country, Prime Minister Kenny Anthony said. Its an issue I have raised with them. It is well known that I have said that LUCELEC can no longer enjoy … statutory comfort for specific profit levels. This is not the era for that kind of statutory arrangement,” Anthony added. The prime minister said that his administration would be forced to amend the existing legislation, in addition to exploring alternative forms of energy if the company maintains its high rates to consumers. In a statement following his recent visit to Venezuela where he discussed accessing the benefits of PetroCaribe, an initiative through which Caracas offers oil on concessionary terms to participating countries, Anthony said that as far as he is concerned LUCLECs electricity rates, whatever the logic maybe, are unacceptably high. In addition to being the sole provider of electricity there, LUCELEC, by reason of the Electricity Supply Act of 1994, is guaranteed a return on its investment through an electricity surcharge. LUCELEC shareholders include the Canadian-based Emera, First Citizens Bank Ltd., National Insurance Corporation, the Castries City Council and the St. Lucia government. In a statement posted on its website late last year, LUCELEC said electricity rates in St. Lucia were among the lowest in the Caribbean. It quoted the latest tariff study report produced by CARILEC, the Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation to support its position. It said the CARILEC report showed that for the first half of 2012, St. Lucia had the lowest electricity rates for residential customers among the 14 reporting countries. Residential customers using 100 or 400 kilowatt hours or units in St. Lucia enjoyed better rates than their counterparts in the other OECS territories,