San Juan/Barataria MP Saddam Hosein said the Regulated Industries Commission is pushing for increases in electricity rates so it can get more money for itself.
Speaking at the UNC’s weekly Sunday media conference at the office of the Opposition Leader, Charles Street, Port of Spain, Hosein said that under section 30 for the RIC Act, the RIC is funded by a tariff imposed on service providers, including TTEC.
“The RIC says it guards its independence jealously and doesn’t work for utilitiy companies. Under the RIC Act, the commission gets money from a cess, the imposition of financial tariff on service providers. That is, the RIC taxes utility companies. The act says the minister approves the cess, which comes out of the gross earnings of the service provider. So they’re telling us they don’t work for service providers, but they collect money from service providers.”
He said in 2020, TTEC paid the RIC $9.6 million, in 2021, $12 million, and in 2022, $8.6 million, for a total of $30.3 million.
“If the TTEC makes more money through the raising of rates, the RIC will get more money," Hosein claimed.
"Is the RIC regulating its own commission from TTEC?”
Other utilities which pay a cess to the RIC are WASA, PowerGen, and Trinity Power.
Hosein said the RIC should not be engaging in a rate increase at this time when people are suffering financially.
In a response on Sunday, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said while the information presented by the UNC was partially factual, there were several factors which were not presented.
Gonzales said, “The RIC relies on the service providers (plural) to fund the RIC. However, the budget of the RIC is determined by the RIC’s expenditure."
He added, however, that the proportion contributed by each service provider was based on its individual revenue compared to the gross cumulative revenue of the particular year.
"While an increase in revenue for a particular service provider would causes the RIC to receive more cess from that particular service provider, the total RIC’s budget request would reflect the needs of the RIC, thus remaining more or less fixed.
"Therefore, while one service provider would contribute a higher amount, the other service providers would decrease their contribution. A change to the revenues of any service provider does not mean that the RIC receives more cess.
“The Act deliberates allows RIC to collect cess against revenue to ensure that the RIC’s work is not compromised by the fortunes of the service provider. According to Cabinet approval, the RIC budget is allowed to have a limit of 0.6 per cent of gross cumulative revenue of the service providers. Therefore, the RIC has been very frugal in setting its budget as its budget is substantially below the limit set.”
Gonzales said therefore, increased revenues for service providers do not equate to increased revenue for the RIC.
“The UNC MP is misleading the country to undermine the integrity of the independent commission by deliberately misinterpreting the provisions of the RIC Act. It is a classic case of intellectual dishonesty!”
What the law says:
Section 29 of the RIC Act says the funds and resources shall consist of amounts appropriated by Parliament until the commission achieves self-sufficiency through the cess; amounts collected by way of the cess; fees for licenses; sums received by or falling due to the commission as fees; and all other sums or property that may in any manner become lawfully payable to or vested in the commission in respect of any matters incidental to its functions.
Section 30 (4) of the act says the cess payable shall be based proportionately, on the gross earnings of the service provider for the preceding calendar year or any part thereof; and paid to the commission within one month of the service provider being notified by the commission of the amount payable.
The act says the cess must be approved by the minister, who must be satisfied that the cess is fair and reasonable given the needs of the commission. It said the minister may have the cess assessed by the Auditor General or by an auditor authorised by the Auditor General to ensure it is fair and reasonable.