Sint Maarten Electricity: Government Drafts Tariff Law, GEBE Generator Contracts Could Be Signed Within Four Weeks

Sint Maarten's government is drafting legislation to regulate electricity tariffs under a formal legal framework, Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina said at the Council of Ministers press briefing in Philipsburg on Wednesday, October 14. He also said the fuel clause on NV GEBE bills is driven mainly by the price fuel supplier SOL charges GEBE, and that contracts for new generators could be signed within about four weeks.

For anyone who owns a villa or condo on the Dutch side, Sint Maarten electricity is one of the largest running costs of ownership. Here is what was said, and what it means.

What happened

• Tariff law in draft. The government is preparing legislation that sets a framework for regulating electricity tariffs and the margins within which consumers can be billed. Under the proposal, the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT) would decide tariffs, formally advised by the Bureau Telecommunications and Post (BTP).

• Still a long road. The draft must pass the Council of Ministers, the Council of Advice and Parliament. No date was given for it to reach Parliament.

• Fuel clause. "GEBE has no say in the price that GEBE is being charged for fuel," the Prime Minister said. The clause follows international oil prices and SOL's charge to GEBE. GEBE does not have the storage to hold all the fuel imported to the island, so SOL handles it.

• Relief. GEBE already contributes Cg 1.5 million toward relief for elderly and vulnerable residents. The Prime Minister asked SOL to consider a similar contribution. SOL has made no commitment.

• Generators. New generator contracts are being reviewed by three legal teams: one in the Netherlands, one for GEBE and one for the government. They are financed by a loan from the Netherlands at about 2.43% interest, not a grant. Signing could come within four weeks if the reviewed drafts arrive on time. No capacity, supplier or delivery date was announced.

• Solar and net metering. Drawings exist for a solar carport over a parking area on Pond Road, and net metering was described as needing cooperation between government and GEBE. Neither has a timetable.

The full briefing was reported by The Daily Herald and St. Martin News Network.

How we got here

This builds on a step taken in May. Ministerial Decree 2026/806, published in the National Gazette on May 22, 2026, named BTP as supervisor of GEBE's electricity concession, with the power to review tariff structures and fuel clause calculations and to report to the ministers every quarter. The same month, the fuel clause rose to 0.45 guilders per kWh from 0.36 in April, an increase of about 25% in a single month.

The decree gave the government a referee. The draft law would give that referee rules to apply, and for the first time would reach the fuel supplier's side of the bill as well as the utility's.

What it means for Sint Maarten electricity costs

• Power is a core holding cost. Air conditioning, pool pumps, water heaters and, in some buildings, water production all run on electricity. On a rental villa in Pelican Key or Indigo Bay, power is often the biggest variable cost between bookings.

• The fuel clause moves with oil. With Brent crude above $100 earlier this month, as we covered in our note on diesel prices, owners have been absorbing higher bills. A legal tariff framework will not lower world oil prices, but it would make the formula reviewable by a regulator and the margins visible.

• Reliability matters as much as price. Outages cost rental owners reviews and refunds, and cost residents spoiled food and backup fuel. New generation capacity, once delivered, is the more direct fix, and the financing is already in place.

• The French side is separate. Saint-Martin is supplied by EDF under France's regulated tariff system, so this debate concerns Dutch-side properties.

Our read

Nothing changes on next month's bill. The tariff law has three stages ahead of it, and Sint Maarten's legislative calendar is not fast. What is new is the direction: the government is moving from asking GEBE for relief to building a regulator-led system that would also cover what the fuel supplier charges. That is the right structure, and it is the kind of system buyers from Canada, the US and Europe already live with at home.

For buyers, we would not let this delay a purchase, but we would put power into the numbers. Ask the seller for twelve months of GEBE bills. Check whether the property has solar panels, inverter air conditioning, a generator or a cistern, and price those features in. A condo in a well-run Cupecoy building and a Dawn Beach villa with two pools and older AC units are very different propositions on running costs.

For owners who rent, review rate cards before high season. Our property management team builds utility costs into pricing and tracks them booking by booking.

Sources: The Daily Herald (October 14, 2026); St. Martin News Network (October 14, 2026); The People's Tribune SXM (May 22, 2026); Soualiga Newsday (May 10, 2026).