The Sint Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) is concerned that during the lockdown of the past months, GEBE tariffs seemingly have gone up for consumers. While common expectation was that the reduced fuel clause and the situation of the country would lead to a decrease in charges. The combined 2-months invoicing has pushed most consumers into higher Utility Tariffs, thereby offsetting any possible savings for them and causing in fact a higher bill.
As more people have stayed home during the pandemic lockdown, many individual consumers will be faced with a higher usage GEBE bill than before as well, instead of the at least an 8-hour period where there would be minimal consumption. This while GEBE enjoyed benefits of the reduced cost of fuel and at the same time many people have lost their jobs. An increased GEBE bill creates a heavier burden for many households.
SHTA would like GEBE to revisit its invoicing policy for the invoices recently released to consumers for both Energy and Water to ensure that consumers are not inadvertently penalized for GEBE’s inability to check meters during the lockdown and the consolidation of 2 months usage into one invoice.
SHTA congratulates the new management of GEBE and hopes that this issue can be addressed as soon as possible.
