Homeowners and commercial users will see an increase in their electric bill the next time one arrives. The good news is that the regulating agency approved an increase that was lower than what the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad sought.
ICE had requested a 30% increase, but rates will go up only 10% or so. Read more »
Drivers who have been thinking of getting a "Quick Pass" to breeze through the toll of the San José – Caldera highway will have to wait a month or more as the HSBC bank, the only provider of the Quick Pass has run out of units.
The bank, in an exclusive agreement with the Autopistas del Sol, can only put potential users on a waiting list, promising to supply the units by the middle of March at the earliest. Read more »
This morning the Banco Central de Costa Rica published a buy of ¢546.50 and a sell of ¢556.56.
US$ has been falling steady all week from a high on Monday of ¢556.60 and ¢566.54.
The last time the exchange rate was this low was in December 05 2008, when it traded at ¢552.83, after that it began its upward climb reaching ¢574.54 on December 5, 2009, and a high of ¢586.31 colones at the beginning of last November.
Some say the drop can be explained by big companies converting their dollars to colones to pay salaries, more specifically the large number of international companies in Costa Rica importing dollars and converting colones, to finance their operations.
Many expats living in Costa Rica gets affected by falling dollar as most of them receive fixed foreign payments (pensions, distributions). They also have their saving accounts in US$ as well.
The approval of the discounted rates concludes an ongoing dispute between ARESEP and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which opposed the drop. Read more »
After September 16 it will cost you 25 colones more (the first kilometre, 455 colones) and 30 colones more (416 colones - all subsequent kilometres). The increase will become effective right after it is published in the "La Gaceta" official newspaper.
In March, the Authoridad Regulatora de Servicios Publicos cut taxi fares slightly (about 1%), saying that the gasoline prices went down.
Don’t forget that you’re paying for any tolls on your trip as well.
The new Costa Rica immigration law was published in the La Gaceta official newspaper Tuesday. That means that it will become effective in 6 months.
Below are the highlights of the published law. Read more »
Cynthia Zapata, head of the department at the Direccion de Apoyo al Consumidor, says that her office does not get many complaints, but assures complaints are filed with other government agency and consumer association. In spite of the fact that there have been dozens of complaints of faulty labelling of the products, most consumers tend not to file a complaint, as the purchase was at their own risk. Read more »
On Tuesday the lawmakers passed for the second and final time a new immigration law. The main item of the law is integration of foreigners into the Costa Rican culture. The new law seeks to improve the conditions of immigrants with respect for their human rights.
Although the main target audience is the Central American immigrants, US, Canadian and European expats will be subject to some changes, too. For example, now they have to join the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social as a condition of their residency. On the plus side, visitors will be able to seek residency without leaving the country. On the down side it makes hotel and operators of other lodging businesses responsible for maintaining a registry of their customers. Read more »
It was announced yesteray that on August 5 the tolls at Escazú will increase by 10 colones, to a total of 320 colones each way. The information signs were posted past the toll booths.
How many time have you heard expats complaining how expensive electricity is in Costa Rica? In many cases it’s 2-3 times more what the expats used to pay in their home country.
It seems that all of us are going to get a break if the proposal by the Authoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos.
The agency proposes cuts of 10 to 14 % in the utility rates. Read more »
The director of the Imprenta Nacional (National Printer), Nelson Loaiza, confirmed that the decree to reinstate the vehicular restrictions of San Jose will be published today, Monday, July 20, and as such will go into effect beginning at 6 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21.
The minister of MOPT, said last week that the vehicular restrictions will begin this week, possibly Tuesday and that the Policia de Tránsito is all set to uphold the restrictions.
It must be some sort of a legal record for the slow-paced Costa Rica. The previous restriction was thrown away by the court on June 12. Read more »
The highway that connects San Jose – Juan Santamaria International airport – Alajuela will be partially closed tonight from 10 pm to 5 am tomorrow.
Important! The highway will be closed completely from midnight Friday to 5 am Monday. Detours will be only via secondary roads. Read more »
Several months ago HSBC started offering the “Quick Pass”, a previously unknown device (for Costa Rica) that would speed a driver through the toll stations of the updated highway from San Jose to the port of Caldera, saving 10 or more minutes at each passing. Read more »
It’s time for the monthly price adjustment. The price regulating authority confirmed that all gas prices are going up this time.
Diesel will cost 62 colones more (11 cents more). Regular gasoline will cost 79 colones more (14 cents more), and super will go up 78 colones (14 cents).
The new prices will take effect after the resolution is published in the official newspaper (La Gaceta).
After the annual vehicle inspection, the Riteve reports an item either as insignificant (”leve”) or serious (”grave”)”. Although a vehicle inspection can be passed with several “leve” items, just one “grave” problem will fail the inspection. Read more »
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March 25, 2010 2:40 pm
Expat Living, News
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