Electricity rates predicted to be more than 10 percent lower in 2020

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, known as ICE, announced that the electricity rates for customers in the regions of province of Limón*, southern zone of the country, Central Pacific coast*, the province of Guanacaste* and the greater metropolitan area, will decrease more than 10 percent between October 2019 and January 2020.

The greater metropolitan area consists of the provinces of San José*, Cartago*, Alajuela* and Heredia*.

According to the institute, the decrease will be be in two parts.

The first reduction of 2.8 percent was effective as of Oct. 1 and is due to the reduction of thermal backup consumption. This reduction is the result of the optimization of the power generation matrix, which was below projections, the institute said.

The second reduction will be applied after Jan. 1. It corresponds to the liquidation of the 2017 tariff, which end Dec. 31.

The rate specifications were the prices calculated with the formula that applied in that year. This reduction is 7.4 percent, so by adding to the October reduction, the final electric rate for 2020 will be 10.2 percent lower than this year.

The institute illustrates this reduction with an example of an average consumer. For example, a household that consumes 200 kilowatt hours per month with the current rate will pay approximately $32 per month.

With the new rate in 2020 and using the same amount of kilowatts, the electricity bill would be $29 per month, said the institute.

According to the institute, since May it has not been necessary to use hydrocarbons for the generation of electricity. In addition, the use of thermal plants is just to comply with the tests that guarantee its optimal state.

According to the institute, the country's clean electricity production already reaches 98.85 percent this year.

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