This public notice is issued by the Utilities Regulatory Authority in accordance with paragraph 12(1)(c) of the Utilities Regulatory Authority Act No.11 of 2007 (as amended).

It serves to inform UNELCO’s electricity customers that in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the Port Vila Electricity Concession Contract, Port Vila’s electricity tariff is adjusted monthly via a monthly tariff adjustment formula defined by the contract to cater for changes in certain types of costs that are beyond UNELCO’s control, yet UNELCO incurs such costs to provide electricity service. These costs are represented by indexes in the monthly price adjustment formula.

Accordingly, since the last billing of February 2022 at 58.06 VT/kWh, the electricity price is adjusted downwards by 0.74% or - 0.43 VT/kWh. This decrease in adjustment was largely due to a decrease in the monthly average imported diesel fuel price/litre by 1.61 % in February 2022 from January 2022 price/litre and increase in electricity demand which helps to reduce price.

There are seven (7) indexes in the adjustment formula that are adjusted every month. Despite the increase observed in material index, the Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) price, the proportion of electricity generated from diesel generation, and the foreign exchange rate, the March tariff experienced a decrease overall due to imported diesel fuel cost making up approximately 40% of the electricity price.

Customers should expect their electricity bill for March 2022 to decrease by 0.74 % to 57.63VT/kWh as shown in table below.

Month

Adjusted Tariff

Change from Prev. Monthly Price

(in % & VT/kWh)

February 2022

58.06 VT/kWh

0.42% or + 0.24 VT/kWh

March 2022

57.63 VT/kWh

-0.74% or - 0.43 VT/kWh

 

The Authority will continue to monitor, verify, and approve monthly UNELCO’s electricity price change to ensure the adjusted prices comply with its (UNELCO’s) concession contract. The approved tariff is sent monthly to the State Law office for gazettal, to become an official publication to the public and application to customer electricity invoices. 

The above outline rate is applied differently to the various customer types of UNELCO via the applicable customer tariff structure.

Customers are reminded to always manage their electricity consumption by using energy efficient appliances and exercise other electricity saving measures to save on their monthly electricity bills. Current global fuel prices are expected to increase due to the ongoing issue with Russia and Ukraine impacting the world fuel market and thus customers should expect gradual increase in the electricity price as a result in the coming months. The current lockdown may also impact the electricity demand which in turn affects the monthly prices.