The government has announced the continuation of a package of fuel and electricity relief measures for Anguilla residents and businesses until October.
Import duties and customs service fees on gasoline and diesel imports will remain suspended along with exclusion of freight and insurance charges from customs duty calculations on qualifying imports.
Meanwhile, the electricity fuel surcharge – which has risen significantly in recent months – will continue to be capped at $0.42 per kilowatt hour for residents and $0.65 per kWh for the accommodation sector.
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The combined cost to public funds is estimated at about EC$16 million, including $1.1m in forgone revenue from import duties and fees, and $14.9m from the supplementary budget for the electricity bill support.
The government first announced the package on 30 March, with the fuel import relief initially set to run for three months, and electricity fuel surcharge assistance for two.
The move came after geopolitical tensions contributed to rising fuel costs globally.
At the time, Premier Cora Richardson Hodge said: “Your government has been actively monitoring the situation and has taken decisive action to cushion the impact on our people and on our economy.”
In its latest announcement on 14 July, the government explained that the extension aims to help shield households and businesses from the impact of rising global fuel and electricity costs.
“These interventions are designed to help contain fuel and electricity costs, reduce the cost of imported goods, and provide continued relief to households and businesses,” it said.
Fuel surcharge more than doubled from $0.42 to $0.88 per kilowatt-hour on 1 April, then ANGLEC announced a second sharp increase from $0.88 to $1.04 per kilowatt-hour on 29 May.
The government paid $3.3m to ANGLEC for April electricity usage and $5.4m for May – together totalling $8.7m in public funds.
It was then extended into a third consecutive month as the power company announced a small adjustment to the fuel surcharge to $0.97 per kWh – that would be backdated to 4 June.
The Anguilla Electricity Company (ANGLEC) is a publicly traded company in which the government controls the majority of the shares.
