The cost of electricity in Samoa is set to drop from this Saturday, the Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C.) has advised.

The Corporation posted a public notice on its Facebook page last week to notify customers of the drop in price.

According to the social media post, E.P.C. domestic consumers will from February 1 start paying $0.65 per unit for 1-100 kilowatts and $0.79 per unit for 101 kilowatts and over. 

Effective next month, Samoans will pay $0.02 lower rate for electricity which is approved by the Office of the Regulator. The decrease applies to all domestic and non-domestic users for cash power and induction meter users.

The $0.79 new electricity rate also applies to non-domestic consumers for cash power and domestic consumers for induction meter users, whereas non-domestic consumers will pay $0.84 sene for all units.

Last year, members of the public paid a $0.09 sene increase for electricity from March 1, 2019.

Tologata said it is the consumers who would feel the burden of the increase, because E.P.C. is trying to recover the expenses on the cost of operation from November 2018.

The change in electricity rates has been approved by the Office of the Regulator.

E.P.C. Chief Executive Officer, Tologata Tile Tuimaleali’ifano, told the Samoa Observer that they have to ask the Office of the Regulator to make changes to the tariff on a monthly basis, and for the Office to monitor the Corporation. 

“We are also providing all the information to them, but they still want us to provide that information and for them to approve something before we implement,” he said. “This time the consumers are feeling the negative impact. The consumers benefited since November until this month because the price is very low, and our actual expenses to purchase the fuel and operations were much higher.”

Tologata said people are still saying the price of electricity is expensive but this is not the case when compared to previous years. 

“From our records, if we compare the price of electricity now to 10 years ago, we are much cheaper. But mind you, as we go on the price of electricity will always increase, that’s the world trend,” he added.