RIC responds to UNC request for more utility rate-increase talks

The Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) has said the scheduled number of public consultations on the T&TEC price review, set to end on March 31, may be expanded.

A March 7 release from the RIC communications department clarified that before the March consultations end, the RIC will announce other locations, and will hold those meetings on Saturdays in a bid to encourage wider attendance and greater participation.

It is also offering online platforms to provide information and wider access for those who may not be able to attend the physical meetings.

The release is a response to requests from opposition MPs, who have written to the RIC, calling for public consultations on potential increases in electricity and water rates, in every constituency, rather than grouping constituencies which are close together.

Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh is among several MPs who have written to RIC chairman Dawn Callendar, describing the commission’s approach as grossly inadequate.

Couva South is among several constituencies, including Caroni East and Central, Couva North, Tabaquite and Pointe-a-Pierre, identified for a single joint public consultation scheduled for Centre Pointe Mall, Chaguanas, on March 15.

Insisting on an individual consultation in his constituency, Indarsingh said one group consultation is inadequate.

He argued, “Given the critical nature of these rate increases and the impact...on the people of this country, it is important that the RIC spare no effort in ensuring that every opportunity is afforded for people to be heard."

He said given the hundreds of thousands of affected people in Central Trinidad, "common sense and a proper approach" would suggest "one measly consultation for the whole of Central Trinidad is not enough.”

He raised questions as to what he felt was the reluctance of the commission to hear what people in central Trinidad had to say.

“Is it that the RIC has already decided that rates will be increased, and these consultations are a sham?” he asked echoing concerns expressed by his colleague Princes Town MP Barry Padarath.

In response to the letters it has received about the locations for the consultations, the RIC said it was keeping to its mandate, as outlined in the RIC Act, when it began them on January 6.

It said its policy was to hold consultations in the most central and secure locations it could, to accommodate as many people as possible as comfortably as possible from nearby communities. For each consultation, it said it ensured there was adequate parking and would also arrange free transport for those who wanted it.

The RIC said it had already completed a number of consultations and would hold others until March 31. It encouraged the public to attend to offer their views and help in the regulatory decision-making process.

In addition, it said it had made available online consultations to enable the involvement of large numbers of stakeholders in real time, and posted information on popular social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to create awareness and receive feedback.

It had also invited written comments on its long- and short-form draft determination document, and scheduled media interviews, presentations and recordings of public consultations, which are posted on its website and other social media to inform and educate the public.

The consultations, it said, "are only one aspect of the rate review and RIC’s intention is to complete this phase, in the most effective and efficient manner possible, to enable the analysis of the oral and written comments received during the consultation period and to compile the final report shortly thereafter.”