Energy conservation drive ‘would cut’ fuel costs

Christ Church West MP Dr William Duguid on Wednesday called for a nationwide energy conservation campaign to help curb rising fuel costs, proposing coordinated audits, efficiency upgrades and new utility pricing structures to encourage households, businesses and public institutions to use less power and water.

 

In the debate on the Appropriations Bill in the House of Assembly, Dr Duguid said the country needed a coordinated strategy to reduce energy demand and improve efficiency.  

 

“What we now need is a national energy conservation programme,” he told the House.  

 

The initiative should encourage practical changes across homes, public institutions and workplaces to cut electricity consumption, Dr Duguid suggested.  

 

“If we have now an energy issue and we can get out of that, people doing energy audits of their homes to see how they can get better fuel efficient bulbs,” he said, adding that simple actions could make a difference.  

 

“How you encourage people to turn off the lights when you’re not using them… how we could get more efficient air conditioning systems… how we can improve ventilation for houses… how we can design houses better.  

 

“And not only in homes, but every government department needs to do an energy audit. Every school needs to look at how it’s using energy.  

 

“Because if we all cumulatively work together to save energy in this country, then the energy fuel bill will be less for everybody.”  

 

The MP also proposed introducing differential pricing systems for utilities to promote more efficient energy use.  

 

“You can have differential metering when you’re using electricity. So you can have a peak rate and an off-peak rate,” he said.  

 

Similar systems already exist in parts of the energy industry, he said.  

 

“But I spoke about it from the NPC, from the natural gas point of view… they do it for commercial,” Dr Duguid said.  

 

He suggested the approach could be expanded more broadly.  

 

“Differential metering for electricity. Differential metering for natural gas. Even differential metering for water as well,” he said, explaining that such pricing structures could encourage more balanced consumption. “Because what you’re doing is you’re giving differential tariffs, what you call peak shaving, allowing it to have a more consistent utilisation. And making it easier for them to plan as a utility across this country. These are the kinds of ideas we need to be looking at.”  

 

Dr Duguid also highlighted the link between water management and energy consumption, noting that pumping water requires significant electricity.  

 

“Energy conservation is not only about electricity. Energy conservation is about water,” he said.  

 

“Every single ounce, every single gallon of water that comes to your house has to be pumped and the Barbados Water Authority is the largest user of electricity in Barbados.”  

 

He therefore suggested a national water audit to complement energy conservation measures.  

 

“So therefore, I’m not suggesting only an energy audit all across Barbados so we can conserve energy. I’m suggesting a water audit too,” Duguid said.  

 

He encouraged simple changes in daily behaviour, including repairing leaks and reducing unnecessary water use.  

 

“So that every toilet that leaking is fixed… when you’re brushing your teeth, turn off the water in between… don’t wash your car all the time with a hose, use the bucket sometimes.”  

 

He also stressed the importance of continuing efforts by the Barbados Water Authority to reduce non-revenue water across the network.  

 

De Duguid pointed to renewable energy projects as another key component of strengthening national resilience.  

 

“When I worked as the Senior Minister for Infrastructure, we worked tediously to be able to put a whole photovoltaic system out in the Belle to be able to build resilience for the Water Authority,” he said. “We weren’t thinking oil crisis. But even now, more than ever, having a PV system for the Water Authority gives resilience even for an oil crisis.  

 

“Because it means rather than relying on imported fuel to pump water… we can rely on the sun to give the photovoltaic energy so water can be pumped across this country.”  

 

Dr Duguid also used the opportunity to highlight improvements in the country’s economic indicators, referencing the Barbados Growth Adjusted Misery Index 2006–2025, which combines inflation and unemployment.  

 

Displaying a graph on the floor of the House, he said: “For the first time in the last 20 years, the misery index of Barbados is now at seven per cent. The lowest it has been in 20 years.”

 

He noted that the index had fallen because both unemployment and inflation were lower. He argued that the decline showed the Barbados Labour Party had delivered on its mandate “to reduce the hardships of the people of this country”. 

(SZB)