BREA director says legislative amendment above board

A key private sector renewable energy entity on the island is seeking to allay the fears of citizens that they would be disenfranchised from scrutinizing or objecting to the applications of large businesses applying for licences to supply alternative energy to the national grid.

Director and Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) Aidan Rogers said on Monday that the public claims are not true. His comments relate to the controversy surrounding the provisions in the proposed Electricity Light and Power (Amendment) Bill before Parliament.

“It’s more an issue of why the amendments are necessary because what was carried in the Press gives the impression that there was some attempt to disqualify Barbadians having the opportunity to object to the licences. The first thing is that the licences to be put in place are going to be standard form licences meaning that there are going to be template licences that would apply to the entire set-up under the Electricity Light and Power Act and those licences are going to be made available for everybody to see,” Rogers told Barbados TODAY.

“What has caused some consternation is that the licences that Light and Power has sought to apply for – they have not been given any licences as yet, they were negotiating the licences with government – were not fully publicised as yet. The amendment speaks to a process where persons can actually examine those licences and raise any questions concerning an applicant. But the notion that there was something untoward happening and that Barbadians would not have the opportunity to query things, is not accurate,” contended the spokesman for the 11-year-old non-governmental organisation.

“The process for even being in a position to apply for a licence for systems over one megawatt or large-scale systems, systems that have a larger generation, not just the ones put on the rooftops by people, or the business [such as] larger solar farms…before you can even get to the stage of making a licence application under the Electric Light and Power Act, you must first secure Town Planning permission,” he explained.

Rogers pointed out that the Town Planning permission requires applicants with systems over one megawatt to have conducted an Environmental Impact and Social Assessment.

“Within that process, all the details of the proposed development that you are seeking to make – renewable energy, the location, the size of the system, the proposed land usage, any impact in terms of the Environmental Department, the Fire Service, Water Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Energy Division itself – at the backend of that application, the applicant must host a public meeting and issue notices to the public to raise any objection,” Rogers stated.

He contended that this is the first level of public engagement that is available with respect to large-scale renewable energy investment.

The BREA director said after this initial stage and before one can make an application under the Act, the applicant must first satisfy the Minister of Energy that Town Planning permission was granted.

“Under the current Electric Light and Power Act Section 5 (3) there is provision for individuals in the public to make objections to any applicant, but it did not set out the procedure or the criteria that one would need to satisfy for making those objections,” Rogers said.

The renewable energy association official explained what the proposed amendments are seeking to do is set a procedure where persons can understand the basis and set out the grounds on which to make those objections.

“Most people are not necessarily in agreement or think that the proposed amendments go far enough in defining what those powers are. Some people question whether there should be a right of access to information. But what I am trying to show you is that the whole process of arriving at a stage of licensing, there is a certain level of public engagement and disclosure that would have already taken place. In other words, people would know who the developers are in the project because the Town Planning application would have to be in the same legal entity that’s applying for the licence because Town Planning permission is a prerequisite before you apply for the licence,” he asserted.

“It’s not that you are going to have different individuals or anything like that. If it’s a corporate entity, you would know who are the directors, not necessarily the shareholders. What will happen is that there is a level of transparency that is already preceding the process. The notion that there is no transparency in the process is not necessarily accurate. So the opportunity for questioning the application that is being made is somewhat limited because, throughout the Town Planning process, you already would have had to satisfy certain requirements. This is something the Government needs to provide – more engagement on how the process will work and what the proposed amendment is seeking to do,” Rogers suggested.

“My comment really stems around the notion that there is no transparency, ‘you handing everything to Light and Power, and foreign investors are going to take over everything’ is not the full picture,” maintained Rogers whose organisation is one of the intervenors involved in the Barbados Light and Power Company’s proposed rate hike.

“I say all of that to put in context what is actually in the public now, that there is necessarily some attempt to hide things from the public. I wouldn’t say that’s fully the case, being aware of some of the developments that are taking place in the sector over the last three years. It’s just to put a more specific and deeper context to those amendments,” Rogers added.

However, outspoken utility lawyer and intervenor Tricia Watson is insisting that the proposed amendments have gone too far with regard to interventions.

“My point is that it [the Bill] is written in such a way as to exclude interventions by, on the one hand, saying to Barbadian electricity consumers rate hearers that they have to demonstrate that they are entitled to intervene. I take issue with that. And then, even if you are allowed to intervene, you cannot get the information in relation to what you are intervening on. That is a problem. That is too far,” Watson argued while speaking on VOB’s Down to Brasstacks.

The attorney contended that it is too far as a matter of law and what is acceptable with respect to engagement and consultation.

She agreed that the law has not gone far enough “because while we are seeking a rush to Parliament to effect interventions, we have no rules in place relating to the licensing. What is the exact process, what is the procedure that will be adopted by the licensing authority, the Minister responsible for Energy?

“There is this big gaping hole as far as the licensing process is concerned,” Watson contended.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb