Tancoo: Businesses can find ways to absorb gas hike

2026-01-26 - 04:52

Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo believes state-owned NGC's impending 76 per cent hike in natural gas rates for light industrial customers is an opportunity for businesses to streamline operations, to avoid passing on the cost to the public. Tancoo's comments came during a UNC press briefing at its Chaguanas headquarters on January 25, where he was asked about the TT Manufacturers' Association's concerns that the hike would be felt nationwide. "I think there's a challenge now for businesses, including the TTMA, to look a bit closer at their operational abilities, to look at a little bit more effectively at their efficiencies and to streamline them to ensure that prices to customers do not increase." The minister defended the move, saying that NGC was trying to fetch a more realistic price for its product, which was heavily subsidised by the State. "The TTMA has indicated that it will lead to an increase in their costs. Realistically speaking, if the cost of an input increases beyond absolute measures, the cost of the final product will increase. That's logical. However, the price of natural gas was being supplied to these entities at a substantially lower price than it was being supplied to industrial sectors...what we are trying to do now is create a more realistic price range. "There will be some objection, there will be some concern, we are in fact increasing the cost of an input, but I want you to bear in mind that the increase is specifically based on bringing it up closer to the price being faced by industrial customers and closer to the price of making the natural gas. The price of natural gas extraction is generally higher than the subsidised cost that TTMA was receiving. "I think even at the increased prices, TTMA will still be in a better position than any natural gas user in any other part of the Caribbean in terms of the cost of natural gas." The increase, which is expected to go into effect at the end of the month, would see prices go from US$3 to US$5.30 per MMBtu.