PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams has written to Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina and Minister of TEATT Grisha Heyliger-Marten. In her letter, the MP asks why several measures recommended in the RAC/BTP report on electricity and water tariffs cannot be taken now, while BTP completes its final analysis.
BTP, now assigned as regulator of the utilities sector, has said it needs about one more month after receiving information from SOL. Wescot-Williams points out that the report has been in Government’s hands since April 2025. Many of its findings do not depend on SOL data at all.
“In fact, my letter was dispatched before I learned of the next road block being encountered. This latest revelation regarding SOL’s position, only strengthens my case to act on the BTP/RAC report .”
“People are asked to pay their GEBE bills every month,” Wescot-Williams continued. “Errors in the fuel clause formula, publishing the tariffs, and the surplus collected from consumers are matters Government can act on today. Waiting does not refine them; it only prolongs them.”
Among the steps the MP reported can be taken immediately:
- Correct GEBE’s fuel clause formula. At present, electricity consumers carry the fuel cost of producing water.
- Account for the fuel clause surplus. The report puts it at about US$6.9 million over 2022–2024, and the MP asks what happens with that point in the report.
- End the double charge and decide on the Seven Seas contract. Electricity used for water production is charged through both the electricity and the water tariffs.
- Publish monthly fuel clause calculations and tariffs. They should be checked by BTP before they are billed.
- Prepare for the Water Supply Agreement with Seven Seas. It expires on February 13, 2027.
The MP also raised questions about the port throughput fee, which is built into the fuel price SOL charges GEBE and therefore into every electricity bill. She asks:
- what the fee is based on;
- which port facilities SOL actually uses in return for it;
- how much it has raised.
She also asks the Prime Minister to explain his statement that the fee adds very little to consumers’ bills.
“Small per kilowatt-hour perhaps, but not small for the people paying it, and the same fee applies at the pump.”
The letter to the ministers contains 16 questions in total and the MP expressed the hope that the response will be quick, candid and resolution-oriented.
