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PHILIPSBURG –- Shandrika Peterson, a concerned citizen has done what utilities company NV GEBE should have done a long time ago: she did an online survey that resulted in a public community report about electricity supply on St. Maarten. A total of 201 citizens participated. The report contains pie charts and percentages and the results are not surprising because they reflect perfectly the concerns citizens have been expressed over the years.
Consumers are concerned about the price of electricity, about the reliability of the distribution system and billing issues.
Though the report emphasizes that the results of the survey should not be interpreted as being representative for all GEBE-customers, it nevertheless shows that the citizens who did take part expressed concerns that are only too familiar to many people.
The report closes with a section under the heading Next Steps. Citizens who thought that those steps would include measures to address their concerns will be sorely disappointed. Instead, the report states under this heading that the report was prepared “to share key findings in a clear and accessible format.”
Furthermore, Peterson is preparing a more detailed technical report for “relevant stakeholders and parliamentarians for informational purposes.” This report will contain statistical analysis, methodology, demographic context and additional policy observations. When this report will become available is at the moment unclear.
Most of the respondents (22.4%) live in the Cul de Sac area and Upper Princess Quarter (13.3%), while the lowest number of respondents (1%) hails from Simpson Bay and Cupecoy.
Predictably, 64.1 % of all respondents reported that electricity costs are now much higher than they were two to three years ago.
Half of all respondents stated that they have changed their habits because of the rising costs of electricity. 25.8 Percent is now limiting the use of air conditioning, while another 25.3 percent delays the payment of other bills. They also tend to spend less money on buying groceries (11.6%), while some respondents indicated that they avoid using certain appliances (14.6%). Surprisingly, 25.3 percent stated that they did not make any changes at all.
More concerning is that 12.6 percent of all respondents stated they borrowed money to make ends meet.
Based on the report, GEBE’s reliability is also under fire. Almost forty percent complained about outages from occasional (27.9%) tot frequent (11.7%).
More than half of all respondents (53.8%) expressed low confidence in the long-term sustainability of electricity pricing and the reliability of service.
Asked what would be the most helpful to address their concerns, respondents mentioned lower fuel costs (50.5%), renewable energy (22.2%) and government support (9.1%).
The conclusion? The report states that “many residents are navigating affordability and reliability concerns.”They also express a strong interest in long-term solutions like the expansion of renewable energy, improvements in infrastructure and measures to make energy more affordable.”
The report states that the findings of its survey “may be particularly important in the context of St. Maarten’s aging population.” It furthermore mentions that, due to the tropical climate, the price of electricity can “directly affect quality of life and household well-being.”
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Infographic with survey results >>>
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