Entrepreneurs grouped in the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) asked the Government that the impact announced in the Reventazón Hydroelectric Project should not be transferred to electricity rates.
According to data presented by representatives of the ICE before the Presidential Council of Competitiveness, the cost of works to repair leaks could reach $15 million. However, they claim that they are forced to contemplate the largest amount facing the 2018 rate request.
Without a doubt the work has to be done, but it is necessary to do this by avoiding the transfer of the cost of repair to electricity rates, as this will not only affect the pocket of all Costa Ricans, but the competitiveness of the country regarding the attraction of investment and job creation. An increase could mean that some companies might have to leave the country, as we have been warning,”
said Franco Arturo Pacheco, president of UCCAEP.
Pacheco insisted that ICE’s policy with the National Insurance Institute (INS) must be used in cases like these, and that both institutions coordinate efficiently and quickly so that it works and the expense is not transferred to the citizenship.
The ICE Group announced that it will use the rest of the energy system to supply demand and did not rule out making use of thermal generation and even the possibility of some importation.