Residents and business owners in the Central Valley provinces of San José, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago will soon pay more for their electricity, thanks to the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) recently giving the green light to a price hike requested by the area’s power company, the National Power and Light Company (CNFL).
Residential electricity prices will increase 5%, while general rates will increase 2.5%, preferential rates will increase 13.6% and public lighting will increase 17.96%.
These increases are lower than those requested by CNFL, according to a statement from ARESEP. They will take effect upon publication in the official government daily La Gaceta.
While approving at least part of the price increases CNFL asked for, ARESEP also asked the power company to review the methods it uses to project the number of electricity users and calculate energy costs.
ARESEP recently rejected a request from the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) for an average 23% rate increase in electricity rates. This rejection came in the midst of a national energy crisis that forced the country to deal with scheduled power outages (TT, April 27).
