“Excessive profit margin” was the term used at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole session to explain why gas costs on St. Thomas and St. John are near $5 a gallon while they hover closer to $4 a gallon on St. Croix.
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department Commissioner Nathalie Hodge introduced the term in her testimony: “The lack of accessible data adds to the public’s distrust, leading to assumptions that higher prices result from excessive profit margins.”
Sen. Ray Fonseca indicated that he thought it was more than a suspicion; he said it was a fact, and he said it was apparent.
The price of a gallon of gas on St. Croix is about a dollar more than the average in the States. The cost is $2 above the stateside average on St. Thomas and St. John.
Energy Office Director Kyle Fleming said the answer is don’t buy gas; get an electric car. He said the government already has 35 electric vehicles, and the experience has been positive. The vehicles require little maintenance. He said new tires were the only maintenance requirement for the EV that the Energy Office has driven for over six years. EVs don’t require oil changes.
Sen. Hubert Frederick said he was a fan of electric vehicles but could not afford one. Fleming said the price of EVs has dropped in recent years and is comparable to gas-consuming cars.
In February, the Energy Office signed a letter of intent between the government and the territory’s most significant auto dealership owner. The goal is to leverage VIEO-administered federal funding to build an electric vehicle service center.
Sen. Clifford Joseph said the dealership in question appeared to be a monopoly in the territory. He also said it might not be delivering the cars promised to the police department in a timely manner.
Hodge told the senators that setting a fair market profit price was not her department’s responsibility.
Fleming testified, “Virgin Islands will never be able to control or even influence the cost of fossil fuels imported into the territory. However, the cost of electricity is within the territory’s grasp of control, even though we haven’t yet fully realized the potential. Every step we take towards increasing renewable energy adoption mitigates our sole dependence on imported fossil fuels. For this core reason, the VIEO has been steadfast in promoting the benefits of ditching the pump and reaching for the plug.”
Several senators asked him about the progress in installing vehicle charging stations around the territory. Fleming said that the territory has installed eight free charging stations and plans to install 26 more by this summer.
Sen. Novelle Francis asked about a $62 million Solar for All Grant the Energy Office has received.
Delegate Stacey Plaskett announced the grant in April last year, but Fleming said a clear path to the funds was not established until December. Fleming said the grant was a “huge undertaking” and would cover rooftop installations and neighborhood grid setups.
At the end of December, the Energy Office conducted a closing ceremony for the first two loans offered under the Solar Plus Financing Program. The program is part of the Solar for All Grant. It is a zero-money-down and one-percent interest loan program that provides homeowners with affordable financing to install photovoltaic and battery backup systems.
Senators wanted to know when savings from the two solar farms on St. Croix would come. A farm capable of producing 13 megawatts had a ribbon cutting in December; another capable of producing 11 megawatts should be completed this summer. Fleming said that a kilowatt that cost the Water and Power Authority 20 cents to produce will be bought from the solar farms at 11 cents.
Senate President Milton Potter, who conducted the session, emphasized that the hearing’s purpose was to examine strategies for resolving the territory’s high energy costs.
All 15 senators attended the session.
