THE HAGUE--Bringing variable electricity rates in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba down to the current level in the Netherlands would require more than €36 million in structural government funding every year, according to new calculations presented to the Dutch Parliament.
The estimate was provided by State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations Eric van der Burg in a September 29 letter responding to a motion submitted by Member of Parliament Don Ceder during a parliamentary debate on September 9.
Ceder requested that the government determine, ahead of the budget debate, how much it would cost to bring energy prices on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba at least in line with the average in the Netherlands.
The government acknowledged concerns on the islands about the affordability of electricity, particularly because Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba remain vulnerable to fluctuations in fossil-fuel prices.
Based on electricity prices and the euro-dollar exchange rate in September 2026, the government calculated that variable electricity rates across the three islands remain considerably higher per kilowatt-hour than the main current rate available for a new electricity contract in the European Netherlands.
St. Eustatius currently has the lowest variable electricity rate of the three islands at €0.3273 per kilowatt-hour. Bonaire stands at €0.4325 per kilowatt-hour, while Saba has the highest rate at €0.4737 per kilowatt-hour.
By comparison, the government used a rate of slightly more than €0.22 per kilowatt-hour for the European Netherlands, based on its calculation of the current main tariff for a new contract and an allocation of part of the energy-tax refund to electricity.
Reducing the variable electricity tariff for all customers on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba to that level would require more than €36 million every year, according to the government.
However, the letter also draws an important distinction between the price of electricity per kilowatt-hour and the overall annual energy bill paid by an average household.
Average electricity consumption on the islands is estimated at approximately 4,000 kilowatt-hours annually, compared with less than 3,000 kilowatt-hours in the European Netherlands. The government said the difference is partly explained by the use of air conditioning on the islands.
Households in the European Netherlands, meanwhile, typically also consume more than 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas annually for heating, an expense that does not form part of the typical household energy bill on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
According to the government’s calculations, a typical household in the European Netherlands pays more than €2,300 annually for electricity and gas combined.
Using an annual consumption of 4,000 kilowatt-hours, the equivalent electricity bill is estimated at €2,166 on Bonaire, €1,745 on St. Eustatius and €2,331 on Saba.
The government therefore concluded that despite the higher electricity rates per kilowatt-hour on the islands, the overall annual energy bill of a typical household is currently lower than that of a typical household in the European Netherlands when electricity and natural gas are considered together. Saba, however, comes close to the European Netherlands household figure based on the calculations presented.
The State Secretary cautioned that the €36 million estimate is based on current tariffs and should not be viewed as a fixed figure for 2027.
Variable electricity rates that will apply from January 1, 2027 are not yet known. The government also said there is a reasonable possibility of additional energy price increases, including in the European Netherlands, meaning the eventual amount required to equalize the electricity rates could differ from the current €36 million estimate.
Rather than relying solely on long-term subsidies to reduce electricity prices, the Dutch government is also pointing to renewable energy as a way to reduce the islands’ dependence on imported oil and lower exposure to global fuel prices.
The 2027 budget includes €3.2 million to address shortfalls in structural electricity subsidies and more than €12 million for further development of electricity systems in St. Eustatius and Saba.
The government said high international oil prices reinforce the need to replace oil-fired electricity production with renewable sources such as solar and wind.
For the development of solar parks, €6 million has been allocated for Saba and €6.05 million for St. Eustatius.
Saba is expected, based on the island’s own planning, to reach 90 percent renewable electricity by the end of 2027.
The government said this would reduce the share of electricity generated from fossil fuels on Saba from 71 percent to approximately 10 percent. As a result, the amount of fossil fuel required for electricity generation is expected to fall by a factor of seven.
St. Eustatius is also expected to record initial savings in 2027 following construction of a new solar park. With additional financing, particularly for energy storage, the island could eventually generate between 85 and 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, compared with approximately 55 percent currently.
Bonaire is expected to receive additional resources in 2027 through Bonaire Bon Transition N.V. to support further development of its renewable-energy system.
The government also indicated that funding has been budgeted to reduce fixed electricity tariffs on the islands to levels considerably below those in the European Netherlands.
Van der Burg said the government understands the concerns underlying Ceder’s motion and recognizes the continuing concern surrounding high energy costs on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
The September 29 response provides one of the clearest recent calculations of what full electricity-rate equalization would require financially, while also showing that the government’s longer-term approach is increasingly centered on reducing dependence on fossil fuels through renewable-energy investments.
