- He also mentioned that these fixed charges help maintain utility company assets effectively.
- LERC Chairman recently announced that predominantly prepaid customers did not fully understand the application of tariffs for their energy consumption.
Dr. Lawrence D. Sekajipo, Chairman of the Liberia Electricity Regulations Commission (LERC), recently announced at the MICAT regular briefing that they had noticed that many of the public, predominantly prepaid customers, do not fully understand the application of tariffs for their energy consumption.
He explained that a customer who spends US$10 would have it divided by 1.10 according to regulations, and then a fixed charge of 2.48 for one month would be deducted, leaving them with 6.61 units of energy supply for 0.24 KWH tariff rate, which would give them 27.54 KWH in total. Furthermore, Sekajipo said no fixed charge is required for all other purchases within the same month apart from GST.
He added that customers who follow this approach would get 37.875 KWH in their second monthly purchase instead of 27.54 KWH; residential customers only have to pay this fixed charge once a month regardless of how many times they recharge their accounts. He also mentioned that these fixed charges help maintain utility company assets effectively. Meanwhile, he disclosed that the government had developed a pricing model for energy supplied in Liberia after refurbishing the electric infrastructure in 2006 and made it effective on January 1st, 2022.