–Fuel Bill projected to be $9B more than 2010
GPL held its 2010 Shareholders Meeting on Friday last.  Selected performance indicators revealed:
* An after tax profit of $ 553 M compared to an after tax profit in 2009 of $1.8 B; * Reduction in technical and commercial losses of 3% to end at 31.3%;
* Expansion of revenue by 10.82 % to achieve total sales of G$26.5 B;
* Generation costs of $19.9 B up from $15.9 B in 2009;
* Expansion in the number of new customer by 5,795 to end at 151,288 customers.

GPL noted that its profitability in 2010 was further eroded in 2011 by rising fuel prices, leading to a preliminary loss position of $4.4 B for the period of 2011. GPL 2012 projections indicate a further loss of $5.6 B, if current tariffs remain unchanged.
Chairman of GPL, Winston Brassington, indicated that as a result of expected fuel prices in 2012 and a financing gap brought forward from 2011, GPL projects an overall financing gap of $11 B for 2012. GPL’s 2012 fuel bill is budgeted to be $ 25.3 B, compared against $16.5 B in 2010 and $22.4 B in 2011. It was noted that compared to 2010, when GPL faced an average fuel price of US$78/barrel, GPL projects an average price of $120/barrel for 2012, representing a 50%+ increase in fuel prices in two years.
GPL has filed with the PUC its calculation that will allow rates to increase by 19.5 % in accordance with its License. GPL has requested guidance from the Government on whether financial support can be provided to cushion tariff changes, in a manner similar to 2008, when Parliament approved a fuel subsidy of $ 3.3 B.