Upon review and confirmation of the CUC audited financial reports, the CI and US CPI reports, and the 2015 CUC Return on Rate Base of 7.4%, the ERA has approved the overall CUC 0.1% Base Rate increase which is a result of applying an 80% factor to a 2015 US CPI increase of 2.1% and a 2015 CI CPI decrease of 1.2% (both excluding food and fuel).

This Base Rate increase does not impact the Fuel Cost Charge nor the Licence and Regulatory Fees Charge.

President and CEO of CUC, Mr. Richard Hew, stated that, “This marginal increase in Base Rates will support CUC’s ongoing investment in infrastructure necessary to provide safe, reliable and cost effective electricity service to all consumers. CUC’s Base Rates remain at or below most other utilities in the region. More significantly the overall rate, including the fuel cost charge rate, is currently at an 8-year low, assisted by the decline in world fuel oil prices and a reduction in Government fuel duties. However, we continue to encourage our customers to become as energy efficient as possible, particularly for the upcoming summer months when temperatures and air conditioning use normally rise.”

The chart below shows the trending of residential retail rates per kWh over the past two years.

ERA Managing Director, Mr. Charles Farrington, noted that the small increase in CUC’s Base Rates would not significantly impact most consumers’ bills and consumers should continue to see for some time yet, the positive impact that decreased fuel costs and Government duty have had over the past 2 years. Noting that RCAM was intended to push CUC to constantly improve its efficiency, the ERA was pleased to see that CUC had managed to maintain its Return on Rate Base whilst continuing to ensure that the island has robust generation, transmission and distribution resources deployed.