The Independent Regulatory Commission (IRC) has started its public consultation to agree on a suitable WACC for the Dominica Electricity Services Ltd. (DOMLEC).

A consultation document has been published for stakeholders’ comments and sets out the Commission’s and DOMLEC’s determinations on the WACC. A face-to-face consultation is also scheduled for August 14, 2024, at the Dominica Public Service Union Building, where representatives of IRC and DOMLEC will make presentations on that matter.

The outcome of this public consultation will result in the IRC’s final decision on the WACC. The WACC represents the return the company must achieve to satisfy investors, including both debt and equity holders. This return will guide the compensation shareholders of DOMLEC will receive for the capital that is invested in its regulatory assets, that are used for providing the service to its customers. This WACC will be utilized in the tariff calculations for the three-year tariff period.

This is the second public consultation related to the Electricity Tariff/Rate Review. The other critical proposals to be decided by IRC before new electricity rates are considered will be DOMLEC’s five-year investment plan, revenue requirement, rate base, load research and cost-of-service calculations. Finally, the rate proposal will present the new rates that customers will pay for the three-year tariff period.

The consultative document on DOMLEC’s WACC can be accessed on https://www.ircdominica.org/consultative/. IRC’s proposed decisions, along with the relevant consultation questions, start on page 17. Stakeholders have until August 16, 2024, to provide responses. IRC will publish its final decision on September 27, 2024. The full schedule for this consultation period is as follows: