APUA offers 10% discount for August following higher electricity bills

Antigua and Barbuda: The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) has extended a 10% discount to its consumers for higher charges on recent bills due to an extended billing reading cycle for August 2024.

The regional power supply company recently informed about the discount in a release and noted that the longer reading period was a result of operational challenges.

“We wish to inform you about an extended billing reading cycle for electricity consumption covering July and August 2024, which resulted from operational challenges,” the authorities said.

They further stated “We recognize that this longer reading period, and in some cases, bill estimation, may have led to higher charges on your recent bills, and hence we provide you a relief.”

The discount will be available to everyone for August electricity bills that are due in September. However, the discount will only be available if the bill is paid within one month of the due date.

This indicates that if the bill for August is due on September 20^th, the consumer will be available to avail of the offer before October 20^th.

The authorities noted that the Credit Control Team will be available to discuss the payment plan in detail and in case anyone has any doubts they can contact them at 480-7002.

However, the discount didn’t come out to be a good choice among consumers as they are addressing the issue to be a major one.

One of the users Anika Cole stated on social media, “The maths not mathing someone needs to be held accountable. How do I go from paying $400 to $1,289 for electricity to make it make sense? Sick and fed up and don’t even talk about the internet I just want throw away the box chuptz.”

Another user named Leasha Tuitt stated, “My bill for August gave me an Instant headache to dry mouth to a cold sweat. So, they doubled a bill and now saying pay it and we’ll give you a discount? No! That’s not how it works.”

Nicole Edwards wrote sarcastically, “Kudos. This is a step in the right direction as it relates to customer care. Now let’s discuss compensation for loss of internet.”

Notably, the power supply company was undergoing several operational changes and upgradations last month creating several challenges for the consumers and the company. This relief offer marks a supporting gesture by APUA authorities to their customers, but it didn’t seem to align with their needs.