From Trinidad Express

Trinidad and Tobago consumes more than eight billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually — the highest rate in the Caribbean and Latin America, says Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte.

He also disclosed that this country has the second lowest electricity prices in the world.

In response to a question from Opposition Senator Wade Mark in the Senate yesterday, Hunte urged the population to conserve electricity, saying that the records reveal that, in 2016, T&T, with a population of 1.3 million persons, consumed a total of 8,360,622,400 kilowatt hours of electricity, resulting in an annual per capita consumption of 6,431 kilowatt hours.

The minister said the establishment of rates for electricity services is the responsibility of the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) and not the Government.

He said the Government’s job is to ensure that within the constraints of available resources vulnerable groups are assisted, which is being done with the current 25 per cent rebates on electricity bills for consumers at the lowest level.

This rebate, he said, which was introduced in 2017, currently benefits more than 200,000 households and is estimated to cost the country in 2018 approximately $48 million.

The minister also answered another question from Opposition Senator Taharqa Obika, who noted reports that salary deductions from National Maintenance, Training and Security Company Ltd (MTS) workers are not being remitted to certain financial and related institutions.

Le Hunte said MTS advised that 3,831 employees were affected by this situation.