Industrials are urging for low in electricity to gain competitiveness

Electricity bill is the biggest obstacle to industry growth, entrepreneurs say

Suggest to exonerate bunker and diesel generation and review finances of ICE

May 29th,2014

The cost of the electric bill is, to industry, the biggest stumbling stone to the competitiveness of this sector.

This view is reflected in the assessment of business prospects and competitive factors of the 2014 studio Rican industrial sector.

The report, prepared by the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC), was presented Tuesday to President Luis Guillermo Solis.

Quotation took the guild to insist, before the president, on the need to reduce electricity rates.

Among other alternatives, entrepreneurs suggest the exemption in the payment of taxes on fuels used for electricity generation. These fuels are the bunker, you pay 22 ¢ per liter flat tax, and diesel ¢ 135. We further propose a reengineering of the finances of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), to bring down the financial burden on the cost of electricity production in the short term.

Against Solis also advocated strengthening and continuing the actions of regulatory reform, including the simplification of procedures, technical regulations and market surveillance.

Welmer Ramos, Minister of Economy, participated in the meeting and said that the power issue is of great concern to the Government, but not the only one.

"There are many additional factors that are holding back overall economic activity, development and production of wealth in the country," Ramos said.

Little optimism. According to Juan Ramon Rivera, president of the ICRC, the industry warns 2014 as a year of little dynamism in industrial production and stagnation in hiring.

In Rivera criterion, except in rare cases (such as safety), there have been few significant advances in the factors that influence the competitiveness of the sector.

Regarding electricity, he added, rather it has been reversed, and for the fourth consecutive year ranked first among the factors that negatively affect the industrial way.

For Rivera, Costa Rica has been becoming the last four years in an increasingly expensive country for this production.

The union industry in 2013 noted that the electricity bill increased about 30% and the discount did not have the same impact.

Moreover, this Friday as the deadline given by the Government to the President of the ICE, Carlos Obregón, to present a plan of options to reduce these rates.

Obregon said the proposal involves a complete overhaul of all components that affect the cost of electricity rates.

Source: La Nación