The Ombudsman Office opposes the increase in the electricity rate requested by the National Power and Light Company (CNFL), and for which a public hearing was held last Friday.
CNFL requested an average increase in the electricity rates of the distribution service in two stages: the first one contemplates a 26.63% increase on the current tariffs for the period between July 1st, 2017 and December 31st, 2017. The second is a 13.75% increase on the current rates for the year 2018.
According to the Ombudsman’s Office, in recent years, the CNFL has faced the rejection of requests submitted to the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP), due to deficiencies in its presentation and content, that, in addition, do not contemplate the current economic reality of the country.
Therefore, the company has not received rate increases to compensate for the increase in its costs in the years 2013 and 2014 and the application filed in 2016 was also rejected.
Due to this situation, the institution asked the Regulator and the company to coordinate actions to correct the technical and administrative deficiencies in the rate studies, so that the company can present an ordinary study every year, with adjustments to the current methodology that comply with the regulatory principles.