PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) has defended its decision to increase natural gas prices by more than 75 per cent, saying “at present the proposed price of gas for the contract year 2026 is non-negotiable”.
The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) said that increase from three US dolars to US$5.30 per MMBtu, could seriously affect businesses already burdened by higher electricity costs and shipping fees.
But in response to a letter sent by the TTMA president, Dale Parson, the NGC chairman, Gerald Ramdeen, said that the TTMA members “will be well advised to secure their supply of gas before January 31 as such volumes will be allocated to other customers after that date”.
Ramdeen said that NGC is open to entering into contracts for one year at the price proposed to the TTMA members, and thereafter enter into negotiations for future years if the current proposal made for those years is challenging.
But he maintained that NGC has to “act in the best interest of the entire country” and that manufacturers cannot continue receiving subsidised natural gas costs.
“You should be aware that over the past ten years your members benefited from a highly subsidised cost of gas; below NGC’s acquisition costs. That is not a policy that the present Board of NGC can continue. The evidence does not suggest that this subsidy was passed on to the customers of your members. One can conclude that it was reflected entirely in their profit lines,” he wrote.
The TTMA had written to the NGC, calling for the price increase for light industrial customers (LIC), or non-energy manufacturers, to begin at four US dollars per MMBtu in 2026, followed by annual increases of about four per cent over a three-year period through 2028.
In a January 14 letter to Ramdeen, the TTMA president wrote that further “to our meeting with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Honourable (Satyakama) Mahara” the TTMA is requesting a reduction in the increase to LIC “which was proposed by NGC from US$5.30/MMBtu to US$9.00/MMBtu.
“There are already a significant number of LIC customers facing increased charges and incurring additional costs in 2026. These include Carbon Emissions Fees (CES) effective January 01st 2026, an additional 5% VAT effective January 01st 2026, and increased freight charges.
“Additionally, beverage manufacturers using PET bottles face a 5% Environmental Levy on imported plastic bottles. Manufacturers are trying their utmost NOT to pass these increases onto the consumers,” Parson wrote, adding that LIC users only comprise 1.2 per cent of NGC’s customers.
He said some manufacturers which consume large volumes of natural gas, would face cost increases too large to absorb.
“In the interest of supporting non-energy manufacturers and SMEs, and prevention of triggering a national inflation, the TTMA is requesting the rate for LIC customers only start at US$4.00/MMBtu in 2026, with a possible 4% increase per year every year until 2028..
“In so doing, manufacturers, operating in such a predictable environment would be better able to plan their operation and budgets, relative to being made to adjust without notice,” Parson wrote.
But in his response, Ramdeen in a letter, which was also sent to the Express newspaper, said the proposed price is “non-negotiable”, noting that among the benefits manufacturers have enjoyed is the subsidised electricity rate for manufacturers, which over the past 10 years has amounted to in excess of TT$20 billion (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents).
“NGC’s Board has mandated the Management that it is prohibited from selling gas below its acquisition costs,” Ramdeen wrote.
“I am quite sure your members will not manage the affairs of their businesses in this manner and likewise the present Board of NGC cannot continue to sanction this type of fiscal mismanagement. NGC must act in its own best interest, notwithstanding what transpired previous to April 28, 2025, and in so doing must take decisions that are in the best interest of the entire country not only of your members.”
Ramdeen sad that he “ can predict that if matters are allowed to continue as occurred under the last administration it would lead to the ultimate demise of NGC. That is an occurrence that the Board that I lead and the shareholder to which we are answerable will stringently guard against.”
