Sources say the new tariff is part of proposal sent to the Regulatory body for consideration and acceptance.
The new price will take effect if approved by the Public Utility and Regulatory Commission.
Joy News’ Fred Smith said the PURC will take into consideration eight key thematic areas including consumer interest, investor interest, cost of production, uniformity of prices as well as competition before pegging prices for electricity.
The last time tariffs were increased was in September 2011. At the time, the cost of production of electricity was markedly lower due to the availability of gas.
Now though, it costs a little over 3 million dollars a day, twice as much in 2011, to generate power as a result of the use of light crude oil.
Power generators say the PURC must immediately adjust tariffs so they could solve the power crisis the country has been plunged into in recent times.
But the Director of Communications of the VRA, Sam Fletcher would not confirm the exact amount they have proposed to the PURC as tariff increases.
He said the VRA has every right to make proposal for tariff adjustment but would not say how much they are asking.
Fletcher explained that it makes little business for VRA to continue selling electricity at lower than the cost of production.
At worse, the company must break even, he noted but that is not the case.
The VRA is indebted to the tune of several millions of dollars, with a chunk of the debt owed by government.
Fletcher insists, whilst the VRA makes efforts to collect the debt owed by government, consumers must pay realistic prices in order to solve the power crisis in the country.
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