The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s newly-released National Energy Policy aims to implement a series of three-year “action plans” to take it towards its goal of having 30 per cent of the Bahamas’ energy needs generated by renewable sources come 2013.

The document, released yesterday and which is essentially a ‘road map’ outlining the Government’s energy sector objectives and how it proposes to attain them, contained little that was new. “It’s been 10 years in the making,” one private sector source told Tribune Business.

Yet its release, finally, was welcome nevertheless, given that it will likely be taken as a concrete indication of the Government’s commitment, and determination, to provide Bahamians with lower cost, reliable energy supplies.

Promising efficiency and reliability, Prime Minister Perry Christie, in his statement unveiling the 20-year National Energy Policy, said: “As the cost of electricity goes up, it becomes more difficult for Bahamians to live with the creature comforts that we have grown accustomed to.

“High electricity costs also make doing business in the Bahamas prohibitive. We must begin to mitigate these costs by creating an energy sector that is not 100 per cent reliable on fossil fuel.”

He added: “In particular, the policy provides a platform from which the Bahamas can embark on becoming a world leader in the development and implementation of sustainable energy opportunities, be they solar or wind-power, or other increasingly realistic options.

“Additionally, the policy provides the basis for a diverse range of well-researched and regulated, environmentally sensitive and sustainable energy programmes, built upon our geographical, climatic and traditional economic strengths to be pursued.”

The policy paper sets out the well-documented issues facing the Bahamian energy sector, noting that it is 99 per cent reliant on fossil fuels. In 2009, BEC’s fuel usage was split 56/44 between automotive diesel oil and heavy oil.

Some 12.3 per cent of all energy generated in the Bahamas was lost from the transmission and distribution (T&D) grid before it reached the end user in 2008, with the “waste of fossil fuels, via leaks and lack of inventory controls, a particular concern”.

The National Energy Policy, which has spanned three administrations before finally being completed, also noted that the cost of vehicle gasoline increased more than three-fold – from $63.291 million to $201.147 million – between 2002 and 2008.

To rectify the Bahamas’ fossil fuel dependence, and all the costs, economic, social and environmental issues it brings, the National Energy Policy is focused on four areas.

These are: Energy conservation and efficiency; a modern energy infrastructure; becoming “a world leader” in sustainable and renewable energies; and regulatory and legislative reforms to underpin all this.

“This goal focuses on the development of indigenous renewable energy resources with the goal of increasing the percentage of renewables in the energy mix to 30 per cent by 2033,” the National Energy Policy states, reaffirming an objective set out by the former administration and previous policy drafts.

“The National Energy Policy 2013-2033 sets a target of about 30 per cent renewables in the energy mix by 2033, and will allow for a 10 per cent Residential Energy Self Generation Programme within the year 2014.”

To help get there, the National Energy Policy states: “To ensure that the goals of the policy are achieved, the Government in consultation with the private sector and civil society will develop three-year action plans that will enable the development of key actions to support the strategies articulated in this policy document.

“These action plans will provide detailed information on specific actions to be undertaken, the implementing agencies or stakeholders, timelines and costs. It is expected that each strategic action plan will be developed for three years, with the first one being 2014-2017, and will build on the existing Public Sector Energy Action Plan contained in the second report of the National Energy Policy Committee. Over the life of the policy, seven such action plans will be prepared.”