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Here’s some good news — ASPA fuel surcharge is dropping

ASPA Satala power plant
Savings will be passed on to our customers, says ASPA
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — As the price of fuel globally continues to drop, so too is the fuel charge imposed on electric rates by the American Samoa Power Authority, which says the “fuel surcharge” has dropped over the last four to 5 months.

National news outlets have attributed the drop in the fuel markets due in part to the coronavirus pandemic impacting the global economy.

ASPA in a brief statement Wednesday announced the drop in the fuel surcharge saying that the recent drop in the cost per kilowatt- hour (kWh) price is due to the continued drop in price of fuel over the last couple of months.

“As the cost of diesel fuel drops so will the cost of the electric rates,” it says and explained that since March to the current billing month of July, “we have seen a 16% drop in the fuel surcharge portion of the electric rate, from $0.23185 to $0.19432”.

According to ASPA the current Residential per kilowatt-hour rate for July is $0.29172 compared to March, which was $0.32925.

“With the uncertainty of the fuel markets and the current COVID-19 pandemic, we hope the rates continue to drop,” ASPA management pointed out. “Any savings from drops in the price of diesel fuel will be passed on to our customers."

According to ASPA, the “fuel surcharge rate” changes monthly due to fluctuating fuel costs. And the fuel surcharge is approximately 70% to 75% of total kWh price. This is considered a “pass-through” revenue because it goes directly to pay the local fuel suppliers for diesel fuel consumed at the five power plants on Tutuila, Manu’a and Aunu’u

The fuel surcharge rate also includes the “renewable reduction” from electricity produced by the ASPA photovoltaic panels. The fuel being saved from producing electricity through PV panels is passed on to customers as the “renewable reduction” savings, said ASPA.

“As ASPA increases renewable energy capacity, more savings will be realized and passed on to customers,” said ASPA, which currently has seven active renewable energy sites, with more sites in progress to increase ASPA’s renewable energy portfolio.

Two major ASPA renewable projects broke ground late October: the $100 million 42-megawatt wind farm to at Aasau awarded to Green Solutions American Samoa Inc., and the $40 million 20-megawatt Solar PV projects, awarded to Canadian Solar Energy, to be built next to the Veterans Memorial Stadium.

At last month’s cabinet meeting, ASPA acting executive director Wallon Young gave a brief update on the two projects, including that the major design work is complete on both projects while contractors are waiting for the borders to re-open so they can come to the territory.