URA Preliminary Decission and Notice Request for Comments - In the matter of VUI Limited's electricity tariff decrease

URA Preliminary Decission and Notice Request for Comments. Case U-0001-15 In the matter of VUI Limited's electricity tariff decrease. May 2015.  In December 2014, the operator of electricity services in Luganville, VUI, proposed a tariff reduction of  2 VT/kWh from the current base price of 47.07. VUI indicates that the rate reduction is a result of cost savings due to improvements in the costs of maintenance and system performance. This report is URA's preliminary decision and accompanying staff report in the matter of the request from VUI.  The URA Staff has performed an investigation and analysis based on 2011-2014 data provided by VUI. Based on its investigation, the Staff has recommended that the base price should now be set at 38.42 Vatu/kWh. This represents 18.37% price reduction from December 2014. The price reduction is occasioned by a number of factors: significant drop of diesel price in the global markets, improved hydro power generation from Sarakata, improved collections and operating cost reductions from more efficient management.