Staatsolie overcharged for fuel sales and transport costs to EBS

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Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname NV has, in recent times, overcharged NV Energie Bedrijven Suriname (EBS) for fuel sales and transport costs of oil to the energy company’s power generation plants. The amount in question is approximately US$ 50 million, according to Robert Ameerali, a member of the technical committee of the labor movement.
As a result, higher electricity rates were passed on to consumers. Staatsolie has now formally acknowledged that it overcharged. Minister Stanley Raghoebarsing of Finance and Planning will have to recover this amount, emphasizing that the public should pay a fair price for energy.
The technical committee gave a presentation to the C-47 union on the results achieved. The committee campaigned for months against what they considered to be an inflated price with “a lot of excess” in the tariffs. An agreement has now been reached with the government, which means that the public will pay lower electricity rates over the next three months. According to Ameerali, Staatsolie previously charged US$ 5 too much per barrel of oil used for power generation.
Interestingly, the EBS management opposes the tariff reduction advocated by the committee. Ameerali claims that the same model is being used to pass higher rates on to consumers, while he believes there is plenty of room for efficiency. The reduction that EBS has paid to Staatsolie Power Company Suriname NV (SPCS) over the past eight months amounts to US$ 6.3 million, an amount that the former Vice President claims was wrongly paid.
Additionally, US$ 20 million was paid for transport costs over the same period. In correspondence with the government, it has been agreed that the fuel price will be capped at US$ 83 per barrel for EBS and US$ 81 for SPCS. This maximum price will apply for the next three months, until December 31, 2024. If the oil price drops, the rate will be reduced. If it increases, the maximum price will be maintained.