July 2024 letter gave utility three weeks to develop fair, non-discriminatory programme; 2026 budget says Government cannot afford broad electricity subsidy
PHILIPSBURG:--- A July 2024 ministerial letter obtained among the documents submitted in connection with Parliament's budget scrutiny shows that Minister of TEATT Grisha Heyliger-Marten formally instructed N.V. GEBE to develop a reduced electricity tariff programme that would benefit senior citizens fairly and without discrimination.
The letter, dated July 18, 2024, followed a July 9 meeting with GEBE and was addressed to then Temporary Manager Troy Washington.
Heyliger-Marten told GEBE she had concerns about the existing practice because some seniors received reduced electricity rates while others did not.
She cited the equality principle contained in Article 16 of the Constitution of Sint Maarten and Article 9 of GEBE's concession agreement, which she said required electricity to be supplied under reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions.
The Minister demanded that GEBE submit a comprehensive proposal within three weeks.
The requested proposal was to address eligibility criteria, the discount structure and an implementation plan.
The letter stated that Government wanted a system benefiting all senior citizens on Sint Maarten, rather than a programme in which some elderly consumers qualified while others did not.
Thousands of Seniors Identified
Attached to the correspondence was a population table broken down by gender, age and geographic region.
The supporting demographic information was intended to help GEBE estimate the potential population that could benefit, although the Minister cautioned that population data did not necessarily correspond directly with the number of seniors holding GEBE accounts.
The document therefore shows that the proposal was not merely a political statement.
GEBE was formally requested to design a programme, and demographic information was supplied to assist in that work.
The unanswered question is what happened afterward.
The uploaded correspondence does not contain GEBE's response to the three-week deadline, nor does it establish that the requested universal senior tariff was subsequently implemented.
2026 Budget Says No Broad Subsidy
Two years later, the Government's 2026 budget responses paint a considerably more constrained financial picture.
Government states that it is not financially able to provide a broad-based electricity subsidy and has included no specific financial provision for electricity-bill relief in Budget 2026.
That does not necessarily mean the proposed senior tariff was abandoned—the documents reviewed do not establish that.
But the existence of the July 2024 directive means Parliament can now legitimately ask GEBE and the Minister for a precise status report:
Was the proposal delivered within three weeks?
What eligibility formula did GEBE recommend?
What discount was proposed?
How much would the programme cost?
Was it rejected, delayed, or still under consideration?
And, most importantly, why has the public not seen the outcome of a programme the Minister instructed GEBE to develop more than two years ago?
