Public utitlities

In a couple days, customers of the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) will see a decrease in their monthly water bills thanks to a 26 percent decrease in tap water rates and a 13 percent drop in sewage service rates that will take effect on Wednesday, July 1.

The executive president of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, Carlos Obregón, on Wednesday morning said in a press conference the agency would file a request with the Public Services Regulatory Authority for a 13.2 percent increase in electricity rates for the first half of 2015. President Luis Guillermo Solís, who promised no new electricity hikes for 18 months, appeared to have no idea what Obregón was talking about.

You really can accomplish things if you set your mind to it.

A day after it approved rate hikes last week for the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, or ICE, the Public Services Regulatory Authority on Friday approved a decrease in electricity rates for all of the country’s electricity distributors. That change will take effect on Oct. 1.

The Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) approved a 3.7 percent increase in electricity rates requested by the Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE). The new rate was published in the government's official newspaper La Gaceta on Thursday.

Costa Rica’s new ombudswoman, Montserrat Solano Carboni, has her work cut out for her: At least 730 pending complaints have accumulated since the resignation of Ofelia Taitelbaum on July 7.