The rise in fuel prices in recent years, together with the depreciation of the local currency has caused production costs to rise for domestic industry.
Between September 2015 and the same month in 2018, the average price of a barrel of imported fuel in the country went up from $54.9 to $83.7, which is equivalent to an increase of 52% in the last three years.
The price paid by Costa Rican industry for electricity consumption is 41% higher than in the European Union and 259% higher than in the U.S.
Industry has expressed its anger against the rising cost of electricity as it is making production more expensive and exports are becoming less competitive against rival markets where energy is cheaper.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has authorized energy companies who operate in the same area, to compete with each other for new customers.
The Board of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) "... put an end to a conflict between Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH) and Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL) over the development of the real estate project Centro Corporativo Belén" , reported Nacion.com.
Industrialists are starting to look at transferring their plants to countries where energy costs are lower.
The high cost of electricity bills has caused some industries to look at moving their operations out of the country in the search for savings and competitiveness.
Corporación Yanber, a manufacturer of packaging for trade, industry and agriculture, decided to go to Nicaragua eight months ago, and other companies are evaluating the possibility of moving their operations to countries where the energy sector impinges less on the cost of their products.
The industrial sector is willing to import the LNG needed without state intermediaries in order to reduce production costs.
"On 11 June, the Administrative Court accepted a law which is forcing the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae) to decide, within fifteen working days, on the possibility of the private sector importing liquefied natural gas (LNG)," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
Will the fuel be included in the state fuel monopoly run by the Costa Rican Oil Refinery?
While all around the world the importance of natural gas as an energy source is growing, the Costa Rica state agency Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE), which holds a monopoly on crude oil and its derivatives, is preparing its infrastructure for the self-imposed role of sole importer and wholesale distributor of the fuel.
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