Electricity rates set to decrease in 2014

A report released Wednesday by the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) indicates that electricity rates next year will decrease by an average of 5.32 percent in most of Costa Rica.

The report states that there will be rate hikes during the first two quarters of 2014, but they will be lower than those approved for the other two quarters that correspond to the rainy season.

The Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE) mostly generates electricity by using hydroelectric power, and water reserves usually decrease during the dry season, prompting the agency to generate energy using fossil fuels.

Although the report indicates there will be rate hikes in those two quarters, it also states they will be smaller when compared to those approved this year.

ARESEP officials calculated the new figures based on generation costs provided by ICE, ARESEP spokeswoman Carolina Mora said. The new rates were set using a calculation methodology that takes into account variations in international prices of fuel at each quarter.

Rates decreases will apply to all electricity distributors across the country except for Coopelesca, which supplies energy for residents of the canton of San Carlos, north of Alajuela, and for Coopesantos, which generates electricity for residents of the Los Santos and Caraigres regions. 

The two energy distributors are the least dependent on fuel-generated electricity provided by ICE, Mora said.

The regulatory agency last Dec. 12 rejected a request by the Costa Rican Association of Large Energy Consumers, which proposed rate decreases ranging from 11-39 percent for their associates, which would be financed by increasing the rates to all other customers in the country.

Decreases approved for 2014