Electric rate for industries is reduced
Ecuadornews:
The benefit will be applied in the night time, from 22:00 to 08:00, for the economic sectors. Entrepreneurs are not completely satisfied. Vice President Maria Alejandra Vicuña reported Tuesday that the value of the street lighting fee will be reduced by 50%. “Since last January 1, we Ecuadorians have paid less for electricity,” she said.
The announcement in the province of Tungurahua, within the framework of the launch of the National Energy Renewal Program Electric Rates 2018.
The program was presented at the Technical University of Ambato with the assistance of other authorities such as the Minister of Industries and Productivity, Eva García ; the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Paul Granda; and the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Elsy Parodi.
The Vice President said that reducing half of the tariff will generate better conditions for the population. “We think it’s good news that is framed in a road map drawn,” he added. Vicuña also indicated that the cost of the nightly rate will be reduced. “From 22:00 to 08:00 will reduce between 13% and 19% of electricity rates,” he said. This measure will be applied in the industrial, artisanal sector and the popular and solidary economy.
Parodi explained that “the objective of this program is to promote and take advantage of energy efficiency in the local productive sector, which is so necessary in the country to generate employment and development, as well as in homes, so that the entire population can benefit from the Energy production. He added that the initiative implies the continuity of the Efficient Cooking plan, with a view to setting aside the use of liquefied petroleum gas that costs the nation so much, and strengthening the lighting and electrification of the rural and urban-marginal sectors.
The official also announced that at the national level, more than 97% of the national territory has been covered with the service, one of the figures in terms of the provision of basic services higher in the region. “Another purpose of the National Energy Renewal Program (REN) is to continue with the zero fossil fuel initiative in the Galapagos. This implies the drastic reduction of these fuels in a natural wonder and animal sanctuary as biodiverse as our largest archipelago, “added the Minister of Electricity.
The business associations expect more details
The announcement of the Government was received with great expectation by the industrial sector; However, for employers, the measure does not fully address the need to reduce production costs. In addition, important issues about the new electricity tariffs remain to be clarified. Javier Díaz, president of the Association of Textile Industries of Ecuador (AITE), mentioned that the Productive and Tax Advisory Council showed, based on technical studies, that the industry was paying on average a surplus of 1.6 cents. per kilowatt hour.
Hence his proposal to make a generalized reduction, without conditioning of schedules or segments of companies. The application of lowering rates during night hours, said Díaz, will not have an effect on a large number of companies because “not all of them work 24/7. According to the Council’s studies, the Ecuadorian industry pays, on average, $ 0.10 per Kw / h without considering any additional rate. “Within those 10 cents we find that there are 1.6 in excess,” said Diaz, who hopes that government representatives will clarify what will be the criteria for the application of the measure.
On the other hand, the Chamber of Industries and Production (CIP), after analyzing information from the largest consumers of electricity, has detected that the bulk of the use of electricity (approximately 90%) occurs at other times. “Therefore, the announcement would be insufficient for companies to be more competitive than others in the region,” said Richard Martínez, executive president of the CIP.
The businessman also added that “the reduction in the hours from 08:00 to 22:00 would be 3 thousandths of a dollar per kilowatt hour, a decrease of 3.3%, which is unmatched by the cumulative increase of more than 50 % since October 2014 “. This union has also proposed to the public entities a comprehensive review of production costs so that actions are taken that are structural solutions and not isolated measures. He agreed with Diaz in relation to the announced reduction occurs in a schedule in which he pays up to 100% of salary surcharge.
The Chamber will wait for the specifications to be published with the corresponding rates, which was approved at the end of December 2017 to determine an analysis of the impact of the measure in different industries.
Coverage
Energy consumption According to the National Balance of Energy Consumption as of October 2017, the residential sector consumes 32% of the resource, followed by commercial (17,02%), industrial (25,02%), street lighting (5.28%) and others (9.49%). 97 percent is the scope of electric coverage in Ecuador, according to Elsy Parodi losses in distribution According to the Electricity Regulation and Control Agency, 7.47% of the energy for the public service is lost due to technical practices, and 4.39% for non-technical. (I)
Source: http://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/tarifa-electrica-para-las-industrias-se-reduce