It’s often noted that electricity, water, and gas are more expensive in Curaçao than in Canada. In Curaçao, gas, water and electricity prices are regulated and set by the government monthly. See the examples below for a cost comparison.

Gas
Fuel prices are not too far off from our costs in Canada (our American friends are more fortunate than us in this regard!), but gas prices can vary daily, and from region to region in Canada. As you can see in the example, today, the cost is identical from Ottawa to Curaçao.

For up-to-date costs in Curacao, click HERE.

Here is a quick comparison:
In Curaçao today, regular gasoline is 2.311NAF/L (1.71CAD/L)
In Ottawa today, regular gasoline is 2.31NAF/L (1.71CAD/L)

Electricity
For this comparison, I’ll use my most expensive bill in the past 12 months.

We used 540KWH that month:
Ottawa has a flat rate of $0.087/KWH.
Curaçao has tiered rates: 0.66 >250kwh, 0.76 250-350KWH, 0.81 >350KWH 

Total Cost in Canada: 113.24NAF ($83.88CAD)
Total Cost in Curaçao: 397.67NAF ($294.57CAD) …about 3.5X higher    

Note: Curaçao also has a electrical payment system called “Pagatinu.” It is the exact same pricing, but you pay for the electricity up front. There is a little unit in your home that will tell you how much power you have left, so you know when to buy more. Technically, this is no cheaper than the regular meter system, but, having the reader unit in your home does prompt people to check their consumption, which can help make one more conscious of their usage. Many people report that switching to Pagatinu has helped them bring down their costs.                               

Water
I’ll use my highest water consumption month of the past year, which was 15m³  (Note: 1 cubic metre=1000L of water)

Both Curaçao and Ottawa have tiered rates for water, so I won’t list all that out, but here are the totals:

In Ottawa: 94.851NAF ($70.26CAD)
In Curaçao: 173.68NAF ($128.65CAD)…about 1.83X higher

For Up-to-date costs of both electricity and water in Curaçao, click HERE

Summary:

As you can see, these costs will be higher, assuming your consumption stays the same. It’s important to factor this into your budget, and equally important to plan methods of usage reduction. If you have a pool with a pump running 24/7 or, use A/C other than just for sleeping, or take 30-minute showers, you’re gonna pay!!

All that said, in my opinion, the savings on not buying stupid winter clothes to combat stupid winter and stupid coldness will more than make up for it.

TO THE BEACH!!!