Electricity bills should drop after the Regulatory Authority yesterday reduced the retail rate for customers of the Bermuda Electric Light Company.

The move, which was welcomed by Walter Roban, the home affairs minister, is the second year retail rates have been cut.

According to a government press release, the RA said: "With a focus on providing relief to consumers due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the RA has been able to reduce the 2021 Retail Tariff for Bermuda’s electricity sector across all customer groups for the second year in a row.

“The Retail Tariff is the rate at which electricity per kilowatt hour is sold to consumers and is reflected as a ‘Usage Charge’ on a monthly Belco bill. The new rates come into effect on June 1, 2021."

Mr Roban said new retail rates are expected to yield an average reduction across all customer groups of 1.6 per cent. Residential customers can expect 1.7 per cent reduction in their retail rates on average, while average rates for commercial customers and demand customers should fall by 1.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively, he said.