TRNC fuel prices cut as oil slides, lower electricity bills soon!

Fuel prices are being cut to reflect the slide in global oil prices and electricity might follow suit. Prices at the petrol pumps were cut by a further 24 kurus last week, bringing to 50-60 kurus the reduction since June. Gas prices also fell last night, with a 3TL cut in the cost of a 10kg gas bottle from 41TL to 38TL.

Meanwhile th KIB-TEK electricity authority put forward proposals on Monday for a cut of between one and 16 kurus electricity charges- a first step to a targeted reduction of up to 30 per cent.

Last week's petrol price cut, announced by the Food, Agriculture and Energy Ministry, brought the cost of a litre of 95-octane unleaded petrol to 3.18TL, 97-octane petrol to 3.61TL, Eurodiesel to 3.26TL and diesel, paraffin and fuel oil to 2.86TL.

Mehmet Coskun, head of the Fuel Oil Department at the Finance Ministry, said the decision had been based on new figures from the Mediterranean Oil Stock Market, and reflected a five-year low in oil prices.

While the cuts so far did not mirror 100 per cent the sharp global decline, he said a continuation of the slide might see more price cuts over the coming weeks.

On the other hand, the Electricity Authority head Ismet Akim has told reporters that KIBTEK on Monday handed over its proposal to government for the reduction of electricity prices.

He advised that if the government accepted their proposals, consumers would be paying up to 16 kurus less for electricity.

Under the proposal- drawn up in collaboration with Ministry officials, the authority aimed to lower the cost of usage of 251-500kWh to 54 kurus per kWh (from 55 kurus), of between 501kWh and 750kWh to 56 kurus (from 67 kurus) and for more than 751kWh to 68 kurus (fom 84 kurus).

No reduction is foreseen in the 45 kurus per kWh cost of electricity usage less than 251kWh.

Mr.Akim rejected criticism that KIB-TEK charges should have been reduced sooner, saying critics were acting on misinformation..

“We are still using fuel oil that we purchased before the decline in global oil markets, and only bought at reduced prices for the first time (yesterday),” he said.

He said a further readjustment in charges was possible in April if the oil price fall continued, adding that KIB-TEK’s ultimate aim was to bring down its own production costs by some 30 per cent, from 56 kurus per kWh to 40, enabling them to pass the savings on to customers.

Consumers’ Association head Hasan Yilmaz Isik said the petrol reduction still fell short of expectations of consumer groups.

“The cost of a litre of petrol should be 2TL”, he stressed.

However  Mr Isik backed a call by Environment and Natural Resources Minister Hakan Dincyurek to postpone the reduction on electricity for a month in order to create a fund for the purchase of a pollution filter for the Teknecik power station.

Credit: NCN