The Independent Regulatory Commission continues to advance work on the ongoing electricity Rate Review process, with current efforts now focused on assessing the operational impact of geothermal energy on customer electricity bills before a final tariff determination is made.
Having completed the latest consultation milestone on May 29, the Commission is now working alongside DOMLEC to review customer feedback, questions, and concerns raised throughout the consultation exercise. Responses to those questions will be published on the IRC’s website together with consultation transcripts and supporting material from the April outreach sessions.
Executive Director Justinn Kase explained that the review process has now moved into a more technical and observational phase.
“At this juncture, the IRC will now be working with DOMLEC to see what changes can be implemented to the tariff regime based on the customer’s inputs and their questions,” he stated.
A major component of the current assessment involves the expected integration of geothermal generation into the national grid. The Commission is awaiting completion of the required performance and reliability testing before geothermal reaches full commercial operation.
“When that occurs, the geothermal 10 megawatts should be on the grid 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Kase noted.
The IRC intends to monitor the impact of geothermal operations over an initial three-month period in order to obtain measurable data on customer billing outcomes. According to the Commission, this phase is important because the review now requires actual operational results rather than projected estimates alone.
“This will give us a very good idea as to what the impact is on customer bills,” Kase explained, adding that the Commission now needs “empirical information” on how geothermal performance affects electricity costs in practice.
The IRC also acknowledged that external market conditions, particularly rising global fuel prices, remain a factor in the wider energy environment and may influence the level of savings ultimately experienced by customers.
The Commission says it will continue providing updates to the public as work progresses toward the completion of the Rate Review process.
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