Green energy lobby opposes ‘closed-door’ dealings on new BL&P licences

The entity representing players in the renewable energy sector here has lodged a formal protest to government against issuing any new licences to the Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P).

The Barbados Sustainable Energy Cooperative Society Ltd (CoopEnergy Barbados) registered the complaint with Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds expressing concerns about the “complete lack of transparency associated with this closed-door process,” which it says affects the ownership of the over BDS $1 billion-dollar per year electricity business in Barbados.

“It is our contention that the only real beneficiary of this licence issue will be EMERA Inc, who effectively purchased a ‘horse and buggy’ monopoly some time ago at the beginning of the ‘automobile era’ and are now seeking to acquire the local motor industry – to use an old analogy,” president of the organisation Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Browne declared.

Browne promised that the CoopEnergy will be vigorously pursuing this matter on the behalf of all Barbadian stakeholders, and will do so until a fair and equitable solution is determined and implemented.

He said BL&P runs the risk of becoming redundant in light of Government’s thrust for the country to go 100 per cent fossil free by the year 2030.

“It will therefore have been clear to BL&P for some time now, that the current ‘licence’ which they hold until 2028 is of little value, given the reality of the proposed new energy framework. Those with eyes to see would therefore not have been surprised that there was such a mad scramble by BL&P for ‘new licences’ to be issued to them as soon as possible – and certainly before Barbadians got to recognize the “queen’s gambit” that was being played,” the renewable energy advocate declared.

He said given that the BL&P currently owns 40 per cent of the electric energy business, and that Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL) owns 60 per cent, it would seem to be a fair and reasonable target arrangement for the new sustainable system to maintain that balance.

“Furthermore, since BL&P’s licence is currently strictly confined to receiving raw energy from BNOCL for generation, transmission and distribution, any thought of that company storing or sourcing raw energy must be outside of the scope of their current licence. One wonders, therefore, about the legality of their solar farm and battery plant currently installed, and at the thinking of regulators at FTC and the Ministry of Energy who would have approved these projects,” the sustainable energy spokesman argued.

“When our government, therefore, speaks of ‘carving out’ 30 per cent of the new electricity system for local participation, what they are actually doing is giving away 30 per cent to foreign interests, since BNOCL currently owns and controls 60 per cent of the business,” Browne has said.

He pointed to another “important factor” in the already “complex equation”.

Browne suggested it is because of current and imminent technology advances, as well as market forces spurred on by climate change fears that individual home and business owners will increasingly be able to implement their own sustainable energy systems.

According to him, such distributed systems will place significant strain on attempts to compete with old-style municipal networks that served Barbados for the last century.

“The matter of loss of tax revenue by government can be more than adequately covered once the new arrangement is in place. Indeed, since the base cost of wind, sunshine and bio-fuel energy will be minimal, it means that meaningful tax revenues will be possible – while still keeping costs below current imported rates.

“Government tax revenues are therefore best served by allowing independent professional experts to manage the business while the country benefits from the taxes produced. The old lady model is outdated. For some time now it has been clear, even within BL&P, that fundamental change would be required in the concept being utilized to supply electric power to Barbados,” he reasoned.

Browne pointed out that while many different schemes have been contemplated over the years from innovative low speed generators using bunker C fuels to total quality management and other schemes to boost efficiency and customer satisfaction, none has worked so far.

The renewable energy activist added: “And even finally, by turning to new foreign owners in the hope that they would turn out to be good ‘fairy godparents’. Nothing has worked so far – except to now bring us to a critical place where continued failure to urgently implement meaningful changes will be devastatingly catastrophic for this country.” emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb