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Diesel Price($/IG)
Fuel Surcharge (cents/unit)
market pass-through system on petroleum products in September 2009, Saint Lucia‟s
economy experienced increases in domestic prices with monthly retail price
adjustments, reflective of the increase in international oil prices. The retail price of
gasoline in 2010 averaged $12.65 per gallon compared to $11.46 in 2009. The average
retail price of diesel increased from $11.52 to $12.42 during the same period. Consumers
paid 5.9 percent more for a 100 pound cylinder of LPG while the retail price of a 20
pound cylinder moved from $27.65 to $31.87.
Electricity
Valued added in the electricity sub-sector is estimated to have inched up by 0.3 percent,
following real growth of 4.8 percent in 2009. In the review period, the major highlights
included the swift restoration of electricity supply, where possible, in the aftermath of
the passage of hurricane Tomas which had little impact on electricity generation. In
addition, the Saint Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) implemented a fuel
price hedging programme in order to minimize the fluctuation of international oil prices
on its purchase cost of fuel. This involved the setting of a fixed purchase price for diesel
which resulted in a more stable fuel surcharge 2 billed to consumers.
Notwithstanding the implementation
of the price hedging programme, the
average price of diesel purchased by
LUCELEC for the generation of
electricity grew by 28.1 percent to
$7.50 per imperial gallon reflecting the
increase in world oil prices in
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8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Diesel Price and Fuel Surcharge
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Diesel Price
Fuel Surcharge
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
2010.This increased input cost filtered through to the final consumers, resulting in an
increase in the average price of electricity. The fuel surcharge, the fluctuating component
of the cost of electricity which mirrors the cost of diesel, moved from -19.1 cents in 2009
to 6.54 cents per unit in 2010.
2 The fuel surcharge is the difference between the current world market price and the base price of diesel (equal to the
average of the preceding 12 months), expressed over the total sales of a given month, in cents per Kilowatt hour.
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