Litia Cava 
[Photo: File]
Questions have been raised over Energy Fiji Limited’s reporting of consumer security deposits and the interest paid to customers.
Committee Member Premila Kumar pointed out that consumers are effectively five per cent non-voting shareholders of EFL, yet the annual report does
not give them the same level of detail provided on other shareholder returns.
Kumar states the report should spell out the interest generated from consumer deposits, the amount paid to customers and how those payments are
made.
She said the figures involve more than $50 million and should not simply appear as large amounts without a clear breakdown in dollars and cents.
EFL Manager Financial Services Shalen Kumar said interest on consumer security deposits was calculated and paid every quarter.
The interest, he states is credited directly to customers’ electricity accounts and offsets their bills.
He said the average weighted interest rate used is about 0.31 per cent, based on Reserve Bank information and an FCCC determination.
EFL Chief Executive Fatiaki Gibson said the company would improve the way consumer deposit information is presented in future annual reports.
He adds that the five per cent non-voting shareholder payments are processed through the central share registry and the stock exchange.
