Dems, Gov’t clash over utility bill and renewable energy

by Emmanuel Joseph

The renewable energy industry has nothing to fear from changes to the Utilities Regulations Act, the Mottley administration said Friday as it pushed back against the Democratic Labour Party’s criticisms of the bill now before the Senate.

It is “nothing sinister”, Minister of Energy Senator Lisa Cummins told Barbados TODAY on Friday. The DLP claimed on Thursday that the amendments would radically affect the way renewable energy companies will be regulated with little to no input from consumers. And party leader Dr Ronnie Yearwood urged citizens to join the party in pressuring the government to withdraw the bill.

The bill empowers the energy minister, acting “in the public interest”, either on the recommendation of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) or on his own initiative, to exempt a renewable energy supply from the “all or any of the provisions”. The bill also provides a competitive framework for procuring electricity storage from independent renewable energy operators.

Yearwood claimed the legislation would result in renewable energy power not being regulated by the FTC but by the minister of energy who would be able to set rates with no room for appeals by the public.
Cummins, who introduced the Utilities Regulation (Amendment) Bill in the Upper House, described the DLP’s claims as baseless and alarmist.

“There is no need to fear,” she told Barbados TODAY in an interview on Friday. “There is absolutely no need to fear, and there is no precedent for the ministry or the government to intervene in matters relating to the FTC, and that will not change now.”

Under the current regime, the FTC regulates battery storage systems up to 10 megawatts but the bill would allow the government to bring large storage providers into the market.

“We are simply retaining that… systems up to 10 megawatts, the Fair Trading Commission will manage, but for big bulky systems over 10 megawatts, we will be able to unlock the grid. We are going to the market to get the best competitive pricing in order to ensure that we are going in this direction. So, the commission will recommend for systems of a certain size, and above that, the market will [decide].”

Senator Cummins indicated that this proposed approach has the backing of international and development partners who are leading the process for Barbados.

“This is not even the ministry,” she declared.

“All this amendment is designed to do is simply allow for Barbados to introduce the findings of the consultancy that we did with the [Inter-American Development Bank], the project that we are working on with the Rockefeller Foundation, to be able to implement competitive procurement for storage systems above 10 megawatts so that Barbadians could be able to get access to the renewable energy systems on the grid.”

The minister said it was unfortunate that some commentators had not taken the time to understand the technical merits of the measure and heed the government’s press statements outlining the policy, especially since many Barbadians have been complaining about problems accessing the grid.

“Surely, it is the government’s responsibility to make sure that we hear those concerns and are guided by the best possible expertise and advice on how to help unlock the grid…and that’s what we have done, and that is the simple purpose of this amendment…nothing sinister,” the minister for energy added.

Drawing a quote from the FTC’s recent decision on the Barbados Light and Power Company’s application for a rate increase to support her case, Senator Cummins said the FTC was on board with the intended procurement framework provided for in the bill.

“The FTC’s own decision… said ‘feed-in tariffs – which is the mechanism that they had been using – may continue in place, until such time as a competitive procurement framework has been developed’. The FTC’s own document establishes that this is the next step. And the legislative amendment is to allow for us to have this mechanism put in place to get the grid unlocked. That is it,” she insisted.

The minister stressed that neither the bill nor the government would relegate the FTC as the utility regulator She said: “We have been consulting with all of the industry partners continuously. They knew what we were proposing to do and they were comfortable with the process, including the FTC. The FTC is a quasi-judicial body. I have taken the position at all times and the government has not interfered in the work of the FTC. So, it is unfortunate to see what can only be described as a baseless, alarmist statement coming from certain quarters about relegating the FTC.”

Vice president of the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) Stephen Worme – one of the intervenors in the BLP rate hearing – declined to be drawn into what he considered a political debate on how the process is being handled.

Worme told Barbados TODAY: “I do not think BREA would want to get into the middle of a political discussion on this. We have been offered an avenue to share our views on it, as have other energy stakeholders, and we will continue to work with all of the relevant parties to try to find the best solution for Barbados.”

Senator Cummins also said that the proposed legislation has nothing to do with consumers as was suggested by the DLP leader.

“The process by which consumers weigh in is through the Fair Trading Commission under the Fair Trading Commission Act and under the Electricity Light and Power Act. (It) has nothing to do with what is being proposed here in this particular amendment.”

Yearwood had suggested that through the amendment, the government would try to take away the power of the consumer when it comes to utility regulation.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb