ORANJESTAD- Member of the Island Council, Koos Sneek, has written a letter to Government Commissioner Alida Francis with concerns about the water and electricity bills which have been sent out by St. Eustatius Utility Company (STUCO) for the month of December.

“My meter was read on Christmas Day, Dec 25th and I guess by many others as well. The fact that the bill is substantially lower than previous months is for me also proof that not the full month has been charged. This has me very concerned, not just for me but for the community in general”, according to the letter sent out by Sneek.

The Councilman points out that reading the meter by STUCO a week before the end of the year, means that the usage of this last week of December will be added to the January bill against the increased rate. “This in my opinion is wrong and not justifiable. Usage in the month of December should be charged against the tariff of December, not against the tariff of January, according to Sneek.

Communication

Sneek also criticizes what he calls a lack of communication from the Utility Company. “What bothers me with STUCO, that contrary to Saba Electricity Company, our utilities company does not have the decency to inform their clients about the higher rates they will charge, but they will only find this out when their January electricity and water bills will be delivered”, according to Sneek.

Sneek asks of Francis to urgently look into above mentioned practices of STUCO, and to look into the effect of negative effect these higher utility bills will have on the household budgets of the people of Statia.

Sneek concludes his letter by stating that the Governing Program of the Rutte Cabinet mentions intentions to reduce the cost of living on the island ‘while the opposite is taking place’.